The Sacred Books Of China The Texts Of Taoism Part II

THE

SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST

HENRY FROWDE

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE
AMEN CORNER, EC.

THE

SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST

1RANSLA1ED

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AND EDITED BY

F. MAX MULLER

VOL. XL

A.T THE CLARENDON PRESS
1891

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Ojforfc

PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

BY HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

THE

SACRED BOOKS OF CHINA

THE TEXTS OF TAOISM

JRANSLATED B\

JAMES LEGGE

PART II

THE WRITINGS OF ATWANG-3ZE

BOOKS XVIII XXXIII

THE THAl-SHANG TRACTATE OF ACTIONS
AND THEIR RETRIBUTIONS

APPENDIXES I-VIII

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1891

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PRINTED IN ENGLAND,

CONTENTS.
THE WRITINGS OF AWANG-3ZE.

PART II

BOOK PACK

XVIII. XL Kih Lo, or Perfect Enjoyment i

XIX. xn. Td Shang, or the Full Understanding of Life . 1 1

XX. xin. Shan Mu, or the Tree on the Mountain . . 27

XXI. xiv. Thien Bze-fang . .... 42

XXII. xv. Alh Pei Yu, or Knowledge Rambling in the North 57

PART III.

XXIII. i. Kang-sang Khu . . 74

XXIV. 11. HsuWu-kwei . 91
XXV. in. 3eh-yang . . . .114

XXVI. iv. W& Wu, or What comes from Without 131

XXVII. v. Yu Yen, or Metaphorical Language . . . 142
XXVIII. vi. Zang Wang, or Kings who have wished to resign

the Throne . . 149

XXIX. vn. Tao A'lh, or the Robber ^ih . . .166

XXX. vm. Yueh A^ien, or Delight in the Sword-fight . 186

XXXI. ix. Yu-fu, or the Old Fisherman . . .192

XXXII. x. Lieh Yu-khau 202

XXXIII. xi. Thien Hsia, or Histoncal Phases of Taoist Teaching 214

THE THAl-SHANG TRACTATE OF
ACTIONS AND THEIR RETRIBUTIONS.

Translation of the Tractate . ... 235

VUI CONTENTS.

APPENDIXES.

PACK

I. Khmg A'Sng A'mg, or the Classic of Purity . . 247

II. Yin Fu A"mg, or Classic of the Harmony of the Seen and

the Unseen .... 255

III. Yu Shu Amg, or Classic of the Pivot of Jade . . 265

IV. ZAh Yung A'mg, or Classic of the Directory for a Day . 269
V. Analyses by Lm Hsi-^ung of several of the Books of

A^wang-jze ... . 273

VI. List of Narratives, Apologues, and Stories in the Writings

of A'wang-jze . ... . . 298

VII. The Stone Tablet in the Temple of Lao-jze. By Hsieh

Tio-hang of the Sui dynasty . . . . .311

VIII. Record for the Sacrificial Hall of A'wang-^ze. By Su Shih 320

INDEX TO VOLS XXXIX, XL . . 325

Transliteration of Oriental Alphabets adopted for the Transla-
tions of the Sacred Books of the East 337

THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.

BOOK XVIIL

PART II. SECTION XL

K ih Lo, or * Perfect Enjoyment V

i. Under the sky is perfect enjoyment to be
found or not ? Are there any who can preserve
themselves alive or not ? If there be, what do they
do ? What do they maintain ? What do they avoid ?
What do they attend to ? Where do they resort to ?
Where do they keep from ? What do they delight
in ? What do they dislike ?

What the world honours is riches, dignities, lon-
gevity, and being deemed able. What it delights in
is rest for the body, rich flavours, fine garments,
beautiful colours, and pleasant music. What it looks
down on are poverty and mean condition, short life
and being deemed feeble 2 . What men consider bitter
experiences are that their bodies do not get rest and
ease, that their mouths do not get food of rich fla-
vour, that their persons are not finely clothed, that
their eyes do not see beautiful colours, and that their
ears do not listen to pleasant music. If they do not

1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 149, 150.

2 Of riches, dignities, longevity, and their opposites, enough is
said, while the other two qualities are lightly passed over, and re-
ferred to only in connexion with ' meritorious officers/ I can only
understand them as in the translation.

[40] B

2 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xvni.

get these things, they are very sorrowful, and go on
to be troubled with fears. Their thoughts are all
about the body ; are they not silly ?

Now the rich embitter their lives by their incessant
labours ; they accumulate more wealth than they can
use . while they act thus for the body, they make
it external to themselves 1 . Those who seek for
honours carry their pursuit of them from the day
into the night, full of anxiety about their methods
whether they are skilful or not: while they act
thus for the body they treat it as if it were indifferent
to them J . The birth of man is at the same time
the birth of his sorrow ; and if he live long he be-
comes more and more stupid, and the longer is his
anxiety that he may not die ; how great is his bit-
terness ! while he thus acts for his body, it is for
a distant result. Meritorious officers are regarded
by the world as good ; but (their goodness) is not
sufficient to keep their persons alive. I do not know
whether the goodness ascribed to them be really
good or really not good. If indeed it be considered
good, it is not sufficient to preserve their persons
alive ; if it be deemed not good, it is sufficient to
preserve other men alive. Hence it is said, ' When
faithful remonstrances are not listened to, (the re-
monstrant) should sit still, let (his ruler) take his
course, and not strive with him/ Therefore when
3ze-hsu 3 strove with (his ruler), he brought on him-

1 If they did not do so, they would be content when they had
enough

2 Wishing to attach it more closely to them.

8 Wti 3ze-hsu, the scourge of Kh& ; and who perished miser-
ably at last, when the king of Wu would no longer listen to his
remonstrances; in about B.C. 475.

PT. II. SECT. xi. THE WRITINGS OF tfWANG-SZE. 3

self the mutilation of his body. If he had not so
striven, he would not have acquired his fame : was
such (goodness) really good or was it not ?

As to what the common people now do, and what
they find their enjoyment in, I do not know whether
the enjoyment be really enjoyment or really not.
I see them in their pursuit of it following after all
their aims as if with the determination of death, and
as if they could not stop in their course ; but what
they call enjoyment would not be so to me, while
yet I do not say that there is no enjoyment in it.
Is there indeed such enjoyment, or is there not ?
I consider doing nothing (to obtain it) to be the
great enjoyment *, while ordinarily people consider
it to be a great evil. Hence it is said, * Perfect en-
joyment is to be without enjoyment ; the highest
praise is to be without praise V The right and the
wrong (on this point of enjoyment) cannot indeed be
determined according to (the view of) the world ;
nevertheless, this doing nothing (to obtain it) may
determine the right and the wrong. Since perfect
enjoyment is (held to be) the keeping the body
alive, it is only by this doing nothing that that end
is likely to be secured. Allow me to try and explain
this (more fully) : Heaven does nothing, and thence
comes its serenity ; Earth does nothing, and thence
comes its rest. By the union of these two inac-
tivities, all things are produced. How vast and im-
perceptible is the process ! they seem to come from

1 This is the secret of the Tdo.

2 The last member of this sentence is the reading adopted by
Wu -ffMng towards the conclusion of the thirty-ninth chapter of
the Tao Teh .ATmg, instead of the common

B 2

4 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XVIII.

nowhere! How imperceptible and vast! there is
no visible image of it ! All things in all their variety
grow from this Inaction. Hence it is said, ' Heaven
and Earth do nothing, and yet there is nothing that
they do not do V But what man is there that can
attain to this inaction ?

2. When Awang-jze's wife died, Hui-jze went to
condole with him, and, finding him squatted on the
ground, drumming on the basin 2 , and singing, said
to him, ' When a wife has lived with her husband,
and brought up children, and then dies in her old
age, not to wail for her is enough. When you go
on to drum on this basin and sing, is it not an
excessive (and strange) demonstration ? ' A^wang-jze
replied, * It is not so. When she first died, was it
possible for me to be singular and not affected by
the event ? But I reflected on the commencement
of her being 3 . She had not yet been born to life ;
not only had she no life, but she had no bodily
form ; not only had she no bodily form, but she had
no breath. During the intermingling of the waste
and dark chaos 3 , there ensued a change, and there
was breath; another change, and there was the
bodily form ; another change, and there came birth

1 Compare similar statements in the Tao Teh A'mg, ch. 48,
et al.

2 The basin or tub, not ' a basin.' The reference is, no doubt,
to the basin of ice put down near or under the couch on which the
body was laid. I suppose that Awang-$ze was squatting so as to
have this between his legs.

3 Is the writer referring to the primal creation as we may call it,
or development of things out of the chaos, or to some analogous
process at the birth of his wife ? However that be, birth and death
appear to him to be merely changes of the same kind in the per-
petual process of evolution.

PT. II. SECT. XI. THE WRITINGS OF WANG-3ZE. 5

and life. There is now a change again, and she is
dead. The relation between these things is like the
procession of the four seasons from spring to autumn,
from winter to summer. There now she lies with
her face up, sleeping in the Great Chamber l ; and
if I were to fall sobbing and going on to wail for her,
I should think that I did not understand what was
appointed (for all). I therefore restrained myself 2 ! '

3. Mr. Deformed 3 and Mr. One-foot 3 were looking
at the mound-graves of the departed in the wild of
Khwan-lun, where Hwang-Tl had entered into his
rest. Suddenly a tumour began to grow on their
left wrists, which made them look distressed as if
they disliked it. The former said to the other, * Do

1 Between heaven and earth.

2 Was it necessary he should fall singing to his- drumming on
the basin ? But I subjoin a note here, suggested by the paragraph,
which might have found, perhaps, a more appiopnate place in the
notice of this Book in vol. xxxix, pp. 149, 150.

In Sir John F. Davis' ' Description of the Empire of China and
its Inhabitants (edition of 1857),' vol. h, pp. 74-90, we have the
amusing story of 'The Philosopher and his Wife/ The philosopher
is ^wang-jze, who plays the part of a magician ; and of his wife it
might be said, ' Frailty! thy name is uoman ' ' Sir John Davis says,
* The story was translated into French by Pere d'Entrecolles, and
supplied the materials of Voltaire's Zadig/ I have not met in
Chinese with Father d'Entrecolles' original. All of Zadig which
can be supposed to have been borrowed from his translator is only
a few sentences. The whole story is inconsistent with the account
in paragraph 2 of the death of -tfwang-jze's wife, and with all which
we learn from his writings of his character.

3 We know nothing of these parties but what we are told here.
They are called Shu, meaning 'uncle/ often equivalent in China
to our ' Mr/ The lesson taught by them is that of submission to
pain and death as merely phenomena in the sphere of change.
For the phraseology of their names, see Bk. Ill, par. 3, and Bk. IV,
pan 8.

6 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xvin.

you dread it ? ' ' No/ replied he, ' why should I
dread it ? Life is a borrowed thing. The living
frame thus borrowed is but so much dust. Life and
death are like day and night. And you and I were
looking at (the graves of) those who have undergone
their change. If my change is coming to me, why
should I dislike it ? '

4. When ATwang-jze went to Khh, he saw an
empty skull, bleached indeed, but still retaining its
shape. Tapping it with his horse-switch, he asked
it, saying, * Did you, Sir, in your greed of life, fail in
the lessons of reason, and come to this ? Or did
you do so, in the service of a perishing state, by the
punishment of the axe ? Or was it through your
evil conduct, reflecting disgrace on your parents and
on your wife and children ? Or was it through your
hard endurances of cold and hunger ? Or was it
that you had completed your term of life ? '

Having given expression to these questions, he
took up the skull, and made a pillow of it when he
went to sleep. At midnight the skull appeared to
him in a dream, and said, * What you said to me was
after the fashion of an orator. All your words were
about the entanglements of men in their lifetime.
There are none of those things after death. Would
you like to hear me, Sir, tell you about death ? '
' I should/ said A^wang-jze, and the skull resumed :
' In death there are not (the distinctions of) ruler
above and minister below. There are none of the
phenomena of the four seasons. Tranquil and at
ease, our years are those of heaven and earth. No
king in his court has greater enjoyment than we
have/ ATwang-jze did not believe it, and said, ' If I

PT. II. SECT. XI. THE WRITINGS OF -STWANG-3ZE. J

could get the Ruler of our Destiny 1 to restore your
body to life with its bones and flesh and skin, and to
give you back your father and mother, your wife and
children, and all your village acquaintances, would
you wish me to do so ? ' The skull stared fixedly at
him, knitted its brows, and said, ' How should I cast
away the enjoyment of my royal court, and under-
take again the toils of life among mankind ? '

5. When Yen Yuan went eastwards to K/A, Con-
fucius wore a look of sorrow 2 . 3 ze ~kung left his
mat, and asked him, saying, ' Your humble disciple
ventures to ask how it is that the going eastwards
of Hui to K/ii has given you such a look of sadness/
Confucius said, ' Your question is good. Formerly
Kwan-jze 3 used words of which I very much ap-
prove. He said, " A small bag cannot be made to
contain what is large ; a short rope cannot be used
to draw water from a deep well V So it is, and
man's appointed lot is definitely determined, and his
body is adapted for definite ends, so that neither the
one nor the other can be augmented or diminished.
I am afraid that Hui will talk with the marquis of
A7/1 about the ways of Hwang-Ti, Yao, and Shun,
and go on to relate the words of Sui-san and Shan
Nang. The marquis will seek (for the correspond-
ence of what he is told) in himself; and, not finding

1 I suppose the Tao; but none of the commentators, so far as
I have seen, say anything about the expression.

2 Compare the long discourse of Confucius with Yen Hui, on the
latter's pioposing to go to Wei, in Bk. IV.

8 Kwan 1-wu or Kwan Aung, the chief minister of duke Hwan
of Khiy whom he is supposed to have in view in his ' small bag and
short rope/

8 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK.XVIII.

it there, will suspect the speaker ; and that speaker,
being suspected, will be put to death. And have
you not heard this ? Formerly a sea-bird alighted
in the suburban country of Lti \ The marquis went
out to meet it, (brought it) to the ancestral temple,
and prepared to banquet it there. The Alft-shdo 2
was performed to afford it music ; an ox, a sheep,
and a pig were killed to supply the food. The
bird, however, looked at everything with dim eyes,
and was very sad. It did not venture to eat a single
bit of flesh, nor to drink a single cupful ; and in three
days it died.

' The marquis was trying to nourish the bird with
what he used for himself, and not with the nourish-
ment proper for a bird. They who would nourish
birds as they ought to be nourished should let them
perch in the deep forests, or roam over sandy plains ;
float on the rivers and lakes ; feed on the eels and-
small fish ; wing their flight in regular order and
then stop ; and be free and at ease in their resting-
places. It was a distress to that bird to hear men
speak ; what did it care for all the noise and hubbub
made about it ? If the music of the A^iti-shio 3 or
the Hsien-/>ih 4 were performed in the wild of
the Thung-thing 4 lake, birds would fly away, and
beasts would run off when they heard it, and fishes
would dive down to the bottom of the water ; while
men, when they hear it, would come all round to-

1 Perhaps another and more ridiculous version of the story told
in * the Narratives of the States/ II, i, art. 7.

8 The name of Shun's music , see the Shu (in vol. iii), par. 2.

8 Called also Td Shao, in Book XXXIII, par. 2.

4 Hwang-Ti' s music ; see Bk. XIV, par. 3. But the genuine-
ness of the whole paragraph is called in question.

PT. II. SECT. XI. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 9

gether, and look on. Fishes live and men die in
the water. They are different in constitution, and
therefore differ in their likes and dislikes. Hence
it was that the ancient sages did not require (from
all) the same ability, nor demand the same perform-
ances. They gave names according to the reality of
what was done, and gave their approbation where it
was specially suitable. This was what was called the
method of universal adaptation and of sure success/

6. Lieh-jze (once) upon a journey took a meal by
the road-side. There he saw a skull a hundred years
old, and, pulling away the bush (under which it lay),
he pointed to it and said, * It is only you and I who
know that you are not dead, and that (aforetime) you
were not alive. Do you indeed really find (in death)
the nourishment (which you like) ? Do I really find
(in life my proper) enjoyment ? The seeds (of
things) are multitudinous and minute. On the sur-
face of the water they form a membranous texture.
When they reach to where the land and water join
they become the (lichens which we call the) clothes
of frogs and oysters. Coming to life on mounds
and heights, they become the plantain ; and, receiv-
ing manure, appear as crows' feet. The roots of
the crow's foot become grubs, and its leaves, butter-
flies. This butterfly, known by the name of hsii, is
changed into an insect, and comes to life under a
furnace. Then it has the form of a moth, and is
named the >^u-to. The Ail-to after a thousand
days becomes a bird, called the <an-yii-kti. Its
saliva becomes the sje-ml, and this again the shih-
hsl (or pickle-eater). The Mo is produced from
the pickle-eater; the hwang-kwang from the

IO THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XVIII.

ft; the mau-zui from the pft-khwan. The
ying-hsi uniting with a bamboo, which has long
ceased to put forth sprouts, produces the /iing-
ning; the >^ing-ning, the panther; the panther,
the horse ; and the horse, the man. Man then
again enters into the great Machinery (of Evolu-
tion), from which all things come forth (at birth), and
which they enter at death V

1 A much larger paragraph from which this must have been
abbreviated, or which must have been enlarged from this, is found
in the first Book of Lieh-jze's works (pp. 4, 5). In no Buddhist
treatise is the transrotation of births more fully, and, I must add,
absurdly stated,

PT. II. SECT. XII. THE WRITINGS OF WANG-3ZE. It

BOOK XIX.
PART II. SECTION XII.

Shang, or * The Full Understanding of Life 1 .'

i. He who understands the conditions of Life does
not strive after what is of no use to life ; and he
who understands the conditions of Destiny does not
strive after what is beyond the reach of knowledge.
In nourishing the body it is necessary to have
beforehand the things (appropriate to its support) 2 ;
but there are cases where there is a superabundance
of such things, and yet the body is not nourished 2 . In
order to have life it is necessary that it do not have
left the body; but there are cases when the body has
not been left by it, and yet the life has perished 3 .

When life comes, it cannot be declined ; when it
goes, it cannot be detained. Alas ! the men of the
world think that to nourish the body is sufficient
to preserve life ; and when such nourishment is not
sufficient to preserve the life, what can be done in
the world that will be sufficient ? Though (all that
men can do) will be insufficient, yet there are things
which they feel they ought to do, and they do not
try to avoid doing them. For those who wish to

1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 150, 151.

2 Wealth will supply abundantly the things that are necessary
and fit for the nourishment of the body, but sudden death may
render them unavailing.

3 That is, the higher life of the spirit has perished.

12 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK.XIX.

avoid caring for the body, their best plan is to aban-
don the world. Abandoning the world, they are
free from its entanglements. Free from its entangle-
ments, their (minds) are correct and their (tempera-
ment) is equable. Thus correct and equable, they
succeed in securing a renewal of life, as some have
done 1 . In securing a renewal of life, they are not
far from the True (Secret of their being). But how
is it sufficient to abandon worldly affairs ? and
how is it sufficient to forget the (business of) life ?
Through the renouncing of (worldly) affairs, the
body has no more toil ; through forgetting the
(business of) life, the vital power suffers no dimi-
nution. When the body is completed and the vital
power is restored (to its original vigour), the man is
one with Heaven. Heaven and Earth are the father
and mother of all things. It is by their union that
the body is formed ; it is by their separation that a
(new) beginning is brought about. When the body
and vital power suffer no diminution, we have what
may be called the transference of power. From
the vital force there comes another more vital, and
man returns to be the assistant of Heaven.

2. My master 2 Lieh-jze 2 asked Yin, (the warden)
of the gate 2 , saying, 'The perfect man walks under

1 I think I have caught the meaning. The phrase signifying
' the renewal of life ' has been used to translate ' being born again '
in John's Gospel, ch. 3.

2 We find here Lieh-jze (whose name has already occurred
several times) in communication with the warden Yin, who was a
contemporary of Lao-jze,and we must refer him therefore to the sixth
century B. c. He could not therefore be contemporary with our
author, and yet the three characters of the text mean ' My Master,
Lieh-jze;' and the whole of the paragraph is found in Lieh-jze's
second Book (4 a -5 a ) with a good many variants in the text.

PT. II. SECT. XII. THE WRITINGS OF J2TWANG-3ZE. 1 3

water without encountering any obstruction, treads
on fire without being burned, and walks on high
above all things without any fear ; let me ask how
he attains -to do this 1 ?' The warden Yin replied,
1 It is by his keeping of the pure breath (of life) ; it
is not to be described as an achievement of his skill
or daring. Sit down, and I will explain it to you.
Whatever has form, semblance, sound, and colour is
a thing; how can one thing come to be different
from another ? But it is not competent for any of
these things to reach to what preceded them all ;
they are but (form and) visibility. But (the perfect
man) attains to be (as it were) without form, and be-
yond the capability of being transformed. Now
when one attains to this and carries it out to the
highest degree, how can other things come into his
way to stop him ? He will occupy the place assigned
to him without going beyond it, and lie concealed in
the clue which has no end. He will study with de-
light the process which gives their beginning and
ending to all things. By gathering his nature into
a unity, by nourishing his vital power, by concen-
trating his virtue, he will penetrate to the making of
things. In this condition, with his heavenly consti-
tution kept entire, and with no crevice in his spirit,
how can things enter (and disturb his serenity) ?

* Take the case of a drunken man falling from his
carriage ; though he may suffer injury, he will not

The gate was at the passage leading from the Royal Domain
of those days into the great feudal territory of 2in; from the
north-west of the present province of Ho-nan into Shen-hsi.

1 Lieh-jze puts an absurd question to the warden, which is re-
plied to at length, and unsatisfactorily. We need not discuss
either the question or the answer m this place.

14 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XIX.

die. His bones and joints are the same as those of
other men, but the injury which he receives is dif-
ferent : his spirit is entire. He knew nothing about
his getting into the carriage, and knew nothing about
his falling from it. The thought of death or life, or
of any alarm or affright, does not enter his breast ;
and therefore he encounters danger without any
shrinking from it. Completely under the influence
of the liquor he has drunk, it is thus with him ; how
much more would it be so, if he were under the
influence of his Heavenly constitution ! The sagely
man is kept hid in his Heavenly constitution, and
therefore nothing can injure him.

'A man in the pursuit of vengeance would not
break the (sword) Mo-ye or Yii-iang (which had
done the deed) ; nor would one, however easily made
wrathful, wreak his resentment on the fallen brick.
In this way all under heaven there would be peace;
without the disorder of assaults and fighting, with-
out the punishments of death and slaughter: such
would be the issue of the course (which I have de-
scribed). If the disposition that is of human origin
be not developed, but that which is the gift of
Heaven, the development of the latter will produce
goodness, while that of the former would produce
hurt. If the latter were not wearied of, and the
former not slighted, the people would be brought
nearly to their True nature. 1

3. When A!ung-n! was on his way to Kkh, as he
issued from a forest, he saw a hunchback receiving
cicadas (on the point of a rod), as if he were picking
them up with his hand ! . ' You are clever ! f said he

1 This paragraph is also found with variations in Lieh-jze,

PT. II. SECT. XII. THE WRITINGS OF J5TWANG-3ZE. 15

to the man. * Is there any method in it ? ' The
hunchback replied, ' There is. For five or six
months, I practised with two pellets, till they never
fell down, and then I only failed with a small frac-
tion 1 of the cicadas (which I tried to catch). Having
succeeded in the same way with three (pellets), I
missed only one cicada in ten. Having succeeded
with five, I caught the cicadas as if I were gathering
them. My body is to me no more than the stump of
a broken trunk, and my shoulder no more than the
branch of a rotten tree. Great as heaven and earth
are, and multitudinous as things are, I take no notice
of them, but only of the wings of my cicadas ; neither
turning nor inclining to one side. I would not for
them all exchange the wings of my cicadas ; how
should I not succeed in taking them ?' Confucius
looked round, and said to his disciples, ' " Where the
will is not diverted from its object, the spirit is con-
centrated ; " this might have been spoken of this
hunchback gentleman/

4. Yen Yuan asked Aung-ni, saying, 'When I
was crossing the gulf of A^ang-shan 2 , the ferryman
handled the boat like a spirit. I asked him whether
such management of a boat could be learned, and
he replied, " It may. Good swimmers can learn it
quickly; but as for divers, without having seen a
boat, they can manage it at once." He did not

Bk. II (9 a ). The dexterity of the hunchback in catching the
cicadas will remind some readers of the account given by the
butcher in Book III of his dexterity in cutting up his oxen.

1 The names of two small weights, used anciently for ' a frac-
tion/ ' a small proportion/

2 This is another paragraph common both to our author and
Lieh- jze, but in neither is there any intimation of the place.

1 6 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XIX.

directly tell me what I asked ; I venture to ask you
what he meant/ JKung-nl replied, * Good swimmers
acquire the ability quickly; they forget the water
(and its dangers). As to those who are able to dive,
and without having seen a boat are able to manage
it at once, they look on the watery gulf as if it were
a hill-side, and the upsetting of a boat as the going
back of a carriage. Such upsettings and goings
back have occurred before them multitudes of times,
and have not seriously affected their minds. Wher-
ever they go, they feel at ease on their occurrence.

' He who is contending for a piece of earthenware
puts forth all his skill *. If the prize be a buckle of
brass, he shoots timorously ; if it be for an article of
gold, he shoots as if he were blind. The skill of the
archer is the same in all the cases ; but (in the two
latter cases) he is under the influence of solicitude,
and looks on the external prize as most important. '
All who attach importance to what is external show
stupidity in themselves/

5. Thien Kh&i-/ih 2 was having an interview with
duke Wei of Alu 2 , who said to him, ' I have heard
that (your master) Kb. Hsin 2 has studied the subject
of Life. What have you, good Sir, heard from him
about it in your intercourse with him ? ' Thien
Khi-ih replied, 'In my waiting on him in the
courtyard with my broom, what should I have heard
from my master?' Duke Wei said, * Do not put
the question off, Mr. Thien ; I wish to hear what

1 I think this is the meaning. is defined by f$ jfij $|) $J,
1 to compete for anything by archery/

2 We have no information about who these personages and the
others below were, and I have missed the story, if it be in Lieh-jze.
The duke, it will be seen, had the appanage of ATau.

PT. II. SECT. XII. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. I/

you have to say.' Kh&i-/ih then replied, ' I have
heard my master say that they who skilfully nourish
their life are like shepherds, who whip up the sheep
that they see lagging behind V ' What did he
mean ? ' asked the duke. The reply was, ' In Lti
there was a Shan Pio, who lived among the rocks,
and drank only water. He would not share with
the people in their toils and the benefits springing
from them ; and though he was now in his seventieth
year, he had still the complexion of a child. Un-
fortunately he encountered a hungry tiger, which
killed and ate him. There was also a JZang 1,
who hung up a screen at his lofty door, and to
whom all the people hurried (to pay their respects) 2 .
In his fortieth year, he fell ill of a fever and died.
(Of these two men), Pao nourished his inner man,
and a tiger ate his outer ; while I nourished his outer
man, and disease attacked his inner. Both of them
neglected whipping up their lagging sheep.'

A^ung-nt said, ' A man should not retire and hide
himself; he should not push forward and display
himself; he should be like the decayed tree which
stands in the centre of the ground. Where these
three conditions are fulfilled, the name will reach its
greatest height. When people fear the dangers of
a path, if one man in ten be killed, then fathers and
sons, elder brothers and younger, warn one another
that they must not go out on a journey without a
large number of retainers ; and is it not a mark of
wisdom to do so ? But there are dangers which

1 Pay more attention to any part of their culture which they are
neglecting.

2 It served its purpose there, but had not been put in its place
with any special object.

[40] C

1 8 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xix.

men incur on the mats of their beds, and in eating
and drinking ; and when no warning is given against
them ; is it not a mark of error l ? '

6. The officer of Prayer 2 in his dark and square-
cut robes goes to the pig-pen, and thus counsels the
pigs, ' Why should you shrink from dying ? I will
for three months feed you on grain. Then for ten
days I will fast, and keep vigil for three days, after
which I will put down the mats of white grass, and
lay your shoulders and rumps on the carved stand ;
will not this suit you ?' If he had spoken from the
standpoint of the pigs, he would have said, ' The
better plan will be to feed us with our bran and
chaff, and leave us in our pen/ When consulting
for himself, he preferred to enjoy, while he lived,
his carriage and cap of office, and after death to be
borne to the grave on the ornamented carriage,,
with the canopy over his coffin. Consulting for the
pigs, he did not think of these things, but for him-
self he would have chosen them. Why did he think
so differently (for himself and) for the pigs 3 ?

7. (Once), when duke Hwan 4 was hunting by a
marsh, with Kwan A'ung 6 driving the carriage, he
saw a ghost. Laying his hand on that of Kwan

1 This may seem to nourish the body, but in reality injures
the life.

2 Who had the charge also of the sacrifices.

3 Lm Hsf-^ung says that the story shows the many troubles that
arise from not renouncing the world. Ensnared by the world, men
sacrifice for it their higher life, and aie not so wise as pigs are for
their life. The short paragraph bristles with difficulties.

4 The first of the leading chieftains among the princes; B.C.
683-642.

5 His chief minister.

PT. II. SECT. xn. THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-SZE. IQ

, he said to him, 'Do you see anything, Father
Acting ? ' 'Your servant sees nothing,' was the reply.
The duke then returned, talking' incoherently and
becoming ill, so that for several days he did not go
out. Among the officers oiKki there was a Hwang-
jze Kfto-Ao 1 , who said to the duke, 'Your Grace is
injuring yourself; how could a ghost injure you?
When a paroxysm of irritation is dispersed, and the
breath does not return (to the body), what remains
in the body is not sufficient for its wants. When it
ascends and does not descend, the patient becomes
accessible to gusts of anger. When it descends and
does not ascend, he loses his memory of things.
When it neither ascends nor descends, but remains
about the heart in the centre of the body, it makes
him ill/ The duke said, ' Yes, but are there ghostly
sprites 2 ?' The officer replied, ' There are. About
mountain tarns there is the Li ; about furnaces, the
-Oieh; about the dust-heaps inside the door, the
Lei- thing. In low-lying places in the north-east,
the Pei-a and Wa-lung leap about, and in similar
places in the north-west there dwells the Yi-yang.
About rivers there is the Wang-hsiang; about
mounds, the Hsin; about hills, the Khwei; about
wilds, the Fang-hwang; about marshes, the Wei-
tho.' ' Let me ask what is the Wei-tho like ? ' asked
the duke. Hwang-^ze said, ' It is the size of the

1 An officer introduced here for the occasion, by surname
Hwang, and designation Kdo-ao. The 3ze simply = Mr.

2 The commentators have a deal to say about the folklore of the
various sprites mentioned. The whole shows that ghostly sprites
are the fiuit of a disordered mind.' It is a touch of nature that the
prince recovers as soon as he knows that the ghost he had seen
was of good presage.

C 2

2O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XIX.

nave of a chariot wheel, and the length of the shaft.
It wears a purple robe and a red cap. It dislikes
the rumbling noise of chariot wheels, and, when it
hears it, it puts both its hands to its head and stands
up. He who sees it is likely to become the leader
of all the other princes/ Duke Hwan burst out
laughing and said, ' This was what I saw/ On this
he put his robes and cap to rights, and made Hwang-
jze sit with him. Before the day was done, his ill-
ness was quite gone, he knew not how.

8. Ki Hsing-jze was rearing a fighting-cock for
the king 1 . Being asked after ten days if the bird
were ready, he said, ' Not yet ; he is still vain and
quarrelsome, and relies on his own vigour/ Being
asked the same after other ten days, he said, ' Not
yet; he still responds to the crow and the appear-
ance of another bird/ After ten days more, he re-
plied, 'Not yet. He still looks angrily, and is full
of spirit/ When a fourth ten days had passed, he
replied to the question, * Nearly so. Though another
cock crows, it makes no change in him. To look
at him, you would say he was a cock of wood. His
quality is complete. No other cock will dare to
meet him, but will run from him/

9. Confucius was looking at the cataract near the
gorge of Lii 2 , which fell a height of 240 cubits, and

1 According to the Lieh-jze version of this story (Bk. II, 1 7 b ), the
king was king Hsuan, B.C. 827-782. The trainer's rule seems
to have been that his bird should meet its antagonist, with all its
vigour complete and undisturbed, and not wishing to fight.

2 I think that there are two versions of this story in Lieh-jze. In
Bk.VIII (4 b , 5 a ), it appears that Confucius was on his way from
Wei to Lu, when he stopped his carnage or cart at this spot to
view the cataract, and the incident occurred, and he took the oppor-
tunity to give the lesson to his disciples.

PT. II. SECT. xii. THE WRITINGS OF WANG-3ZE. 21

the spray of which floated a distance of forty 11, (pro-
ducing a turbulence) in which no tortoise, gavial,
fish, or turtle could play. He saw, however, an
old man swimming about in it, as if he had sustained
some great calamity, and wished to end his life.
Confucius made his disciples hasten along the
stream to rescue the man ; and by the time they had
gone several hundred paces, he was walking along
singing, with his hair dishevelled, and enjoying him-
self at the foot of the embankment. Confucius
followed and asked him, saying, ' I thought you were
a sprite ; but, when I look closely at you, I see that
you are a man. Let me ask if you have any par-
ticular way of treading the water/ The man said,
* No, I have no particular way. I began (to learn
the art) at the very earliest time ; as I grew up, it
became my nature to practise it ; and my success in
it is now as sure as fate. I enter and go down with
the water in the very centre of its whirl, and come
up again with it when it whirls the other way. I
follow the way of the water, and do nothing con-
trary to it of myself ; this is how I tread it/ Con-
fucius said, c What do you mean by saying that you
began to learn the art at the very earliest time;
that as you grew up, it became your nature to prac-
tise it, and that your success in it now is as sure as
fate ?' The man replied, * I was born among these
hills and lived contented among them ; that was why
I say that I have trod this water from my earliest
time. I grew up by it, and have been happy tread-
ing it ; that is why I said that to tread it had be-
come natural to me. I know not how I do it, and
yet I do it ; that is why I say that my success is as
sure as fate/

22 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XIX.

10. A7zing, the Worker in Rottlera 1 wood, carved
a bell-stand 2 , and when it was completed, all who saw
it were astonished as if it were the work of spirits.
The marquis of Lti went to see it, and asked by
what art he had succeeded in producing it. ' Your
subject is but a mechanic/ was the reply; 'what
art should I be possessed of ? Nevertheless, there
is one thing (which I will mention). When your
servant had undertaken to make the bell-stand, I
did not venture to waste any of my power, and felt
it necessary to fast in order to compose my mind.
After fasting for three days, I did not presume to
think of any congratulation, reward, rank, or emolu-
ment (which I might obtain by the execution of my
task) ; after fasting five days, I did not presume to
think of the condemnation or commendation (which
it would produce), or of the skill or want of skill
(which it might display). At the end of the seven
days, I had forgotten all about myself; my four
limbs and my whole person. By this time the
thought of your Grace's court (for which I was to
make the thing) had passed away ; everything that
could divert my mind from exclusive devotion to
the exercise of my skill had disappeared. Then I
went into the forest, and looked at the natural forms
of the trees. When I saw one of a perfect form,
then the figure of the bell-stand rose up to my
view, and I applied my hand to the work. Had

1 The 3ze orrottlera was and is a very famous tree, called ' the
king of trees/ from its stately appearance and the excellence of
its timber.

8 The ' bell-stand' is celebrated in the Shih King, III,i, Ode 8.
A complete peal consisted of twelve bells, suspended in two tiers
one above the other.

PT. II. SECT. xii. THE WRITINGS OF JSTWANG-3ZE. 2 3

I not met with such a tree, I must have aban-
doned the object ; but my Heaven-given faculty and
the Heaven-given qualities of the wood were con-
centrated on it So it was that my spirit was thus
engaged in the production of the bell-stand/

1 1. Tung-ye Ki 1 was introduced to duke A*wang 2
to exhibit his driving. His horses went forwards
and backwards with the straightness of a line, and
wheeled to the right and the left with the exactness
of a circle. The duke thought that the lines and
circles could not be surpassed if they were woven
with silken strings, and told him to make a hundred
circuits on the same lines. On the road Yen Ho 3
met the equipage, and on entering (the palace), and
seeing the duke, he said, 'ATs horses will break
down/ but the duke was silent, and gave him no
reply. After a little the horses did come back,
having broken down ; and the duke then said, ' How
did you know that it would be so ?' Yen Ho said,
' The horses were exhausted, and he was still urging
them on. It was this which made me say that they
would break down/

12. The artisan Shui 4 made things round (and
square) more exactly than if he had used the circle

1 Al would be the name of the charioteer, a gentleman of Lu,
called Tung-ye, ' eastern country/ I suppose from the situation of
his estate

2 Duke Awang would be the marquis Thung of Lu, B.C. 693-662.

3 Yen Ho was probably the chief of the Yen family at the time.
A scion of it, Yen Hui, afterwards became the favourite disciple of
Confucius. He could hardly be the same Yen Ho who is men-
tioned in Bk. IV, par. 5. K\ has had, and still has, his representa-
tives in eveiy country.

4 Shui is mentioned in the Shu King, V, xxh, 19, as a famous
maker of arrows. Some carry him back to the time of Shun.

24 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XIX.

and square. The operation of his fingers on (the
forms of) things was like the transformations of
them (in nature), and required no application of his
mind ; and so his Intelligence l was entire and en-
countered no resistance.

13. To be unthought of by the foot that wears it
is the fitness of a shoe ; to be unthought of by the
waist is the fitness of a girdle. When one's wisdom
does not think of the right or the wrong (of a ques-
tion under discussion), that shows the suitability of
the mind (for the question) ; when one is conscious
of no inward change, or outward attraction, that
shows the mastery of affairs. He who perceives at
once the fitness, and never loses the sense of it, has
the fitness that forgets all about what is fitting.

14. There was a Sun Hsift 2 who went to the door
of 3 z e-pien AvJing-jze, and said to him in a strange
perturbed way, ' When I lived in my village, no one
took notice of me, but all said that I did not culti-
vate (my fields) ; in a time of trouble and attack,
no one took notice of me, but all said that I had
no courage. But that I did not cultivate my fields,
was really because I never met with a good year ;
and that I did not do service for our ruler, was
because I did not meet with the suitable oppor-
tunity to do so. I have been sent about my
business by the villagers, and am driven away by
the registrars of the district ; what is my crime ?
O Heaven ! how is it that I have met with such a
fate?'

1 Literally, ' Tower of Intelligence/ a TSoistic name for the
mind.

2 A weakling, of whom we know only what we read here.

PT. II. SECT. XII. THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-SZE. 2 5

Pien-jze l said to him, ' Have you not heard how
the perfect man deals with himself? He forgets
that he has a liver and gall. He takes no thought
of his ears and eyes. He seems lost and aimless
beyond the dust and dirt of the world, and enjoys
himself at ease in occupations untroubled by the
affairs of business. He may be described as acting
and yet not relying on what he does, as being
superior and yet not using his superiority to exer-
cise any control. But now you would make a
display of your wisdom to astonish the ignorant ;
you would cultivate your person to make the in-
feriority of others more apparent ; you seek to shine
as if you were carrying the sun and moon in your
hands. That you are complete in your bodily
frame, and possess all its nine openings ; that you
have not met with any calamity in the middle of
your course, such as deafness, blindness, or lame-
ness, and can still take your place as a man among
other men ; in all this you are fortunate. What
leisure have you to murmur against Heaven? Go
away, Sir/

Sun-jze on this went out, and Pien-jze went inside.
Having sitten down, after a little time he looked up
to heaven, and sighed. His disciples asked him why
he sighed, and he said to them, ' Hsiti came to me a
little while ago, and I told him the characteristics of
the perfect man. I am afraid he will be frightened,
and get into a state of perplexity/ His disciples said,
* Not so. If what he said was right, and what you

1 This must have been a man of more note. We find him here
with a school of disciples in his house, and sought out for counsel
by men like Sun Hsifi.

26 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XIX.

said was wrong, the wrong will certainly not be able
to perplex the right. If what he said was wrong,
and what you said was right, it was just because he
was perplexed that he came to you. What was
your fault in dealing with him as you did ? ' Pien-jze
said, ' Not so. Formerly a bird came, and took up
its seat in the suburbs of Lft l . The ruler of Lft was
pleased with it, and provided an ox, a sheep, and
a pig to feast it, causing also the A'lti-shdo to be
performed to delight it. But the bird began to
be sad, looked dazed, and did not venture to eat
or drink. This was what is called " Nourishing
a bird, as you would nourish yourself." He who
would nourish a bird as a bird should be nourished
should let it perch in a deep forest, or let it float
on a river or lake, or let it find its food naturally
and undisturbed on the level dry ground. Now
Hsift (came to me), a man of slender intelligence,
and slight information, and I told him of the charac-
teristics of the perfect man, it was like using a
carriage and horses to convey a mouse, or trying to
delight a quail with the music of bells and drums ;
could the creatures help being frightened ? '

1 Compare par. 5, Bk. XVIII.

PT. II. SECT. XIII. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 2J

BOOK XX.
PART II. SECTION XIII.

Shan Mft, or ' The Tree on the Mountain 1 .'

i. ./Twang- jze was walking on a mountain, when he
saw a great tree 2 with huge branches and luxuriant
foliage. A wood-cutter was resting by its side, but
he would not touch it, and, when asked the reason,
said, that it was of no use for anything. Awang-jze
then said to his disciples, 'This tree, because its
wood is good for nothing, will succeed in living out
its natural term of years/ Having left the moun-
tain, the Master lodged in the house of an old
friend, who was glad to see him. and ordered his
waiting-lad to kill a goose and boil it. The lad
said, * One of our geese can cackle, and the other
cannot ; which of them shall I kill ? ' The host
said, * Kill the one that cannot cackle/

Next day, his disciples asked ^sfwang-jze, saying,
* Yesterday the tree on the mountain (you said)
would live out its years because of the uselessness
of its wood, and now our host's goose has died be-
cause of its want of power (to cackle) ; which of
these conditions, Master, would you prefer to be
in ? ' A'wang-jze laughed and said, * (If I said that)
I would prefer to be in a position between being fit
to be useful and wanting that fitness, that would

1 See vol. xxxix, p. 151.

2 Compare the accounts of great trees in I, par.6; IV, par. i; et al.

28 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xx.

seem to be the right position, but it would not be
so, for it would not put me beyond being involved in
trouble ; whereas one who takes his seat on the Tcio
and its Attributes, and there finds his ease and en-
joyment, is not exposed to such a contingency. He
is above the reach both of praise and of detraction ;
now he (mounts aloft) like a dragon, now he (keeps
beneath) like a snake ; he is transformed with the
(changing) character of the time, and is not willing
to addict himself to any one thing ; now in a high
position and now in a low, he is in harmony with
all his surroundings ; he enjoys himself at ease
with the Author of all things 1 ; he treats things as
things, and is not a thing to them : where is his
liability to be involved in trouble ? This was the
method of Shan Nang and Hwang-Ti. As to those
who occupy themselves with the qualities of things,
and with the teaching and practice of the human
relations, it is not so with them. Union brings on
separation ; success, over hrow ; sharp corners, the
use of the file ; honour, critical remarks ; active exer-
tion, failure ; wisdom, scheming ; inferiority, being
despised : where is the possibility of unchangeable-
ness in any of these conditions ? Remember this,
my disciples. Let your abode be here, in the Tdo
and its Attributes 2 /

2. 1-lisio 3 , an officer of Shih-nan 3 , having an in-

1 The Tdo; called ^ ^C ^c, in Bk. XII, par. 5.

2 But after all it comes to be the same thing in point of fact
with those who ground themselves m the Tao, and with others.

8 The 1-lido here was a scion of the ruling House of Kh^ and
is mentioned fortunately m the Supplement to the 3o-^wan, under
the very year in which Confucius died (B.C. 479). His residence
was m the south of the ' Market Place ' of the city where he lived,

PT. II. SECT. xin. THE WRITINGS OF JHVANG-3ZE. 29

terview with the marquis of Lft \ found him looking
sad, and asked him why he was so. The marquis
said, c I have studied the ways of the former kings,
and cultivated the inheritance left me by my prede-
cessors. I reverence the spirits of the departed and
honour the men of worth, doing this with personal
devotion, and without the slightest intermission.
Notwithstanding, I do not avoid meeting with
calamity, and this it is which makes me sad.' The
officer said, * The arts by which you try to remove
calamity are shallow. Think of the close-furred fox
and of the elegantly-spotted leopard. They lodge
in the forests on the hills, and lurk in their holes
among the rocks ; keeping still. At night they
go about, and during day remain in their lairs ;
so cautious are they. Even if they are suffering
from hunger, thirst, and other distresses, they still
keep aloof from men, seeking their food about the
Alang and the Ho; so resolute are they. Still
they are not able to escape the danger of the net
or the trap ; and what fault is it of theirs ? It is
their skins which occasion them the calamity.

'And is not the state of Lft your lordship's skin ?
I wish your lordship to rip your skin from your
body, to cleanse your heart, to put away your
desires, and to enjoy yourself where you will be

which is the meaning of the Shih-nan in the text. The description
of his character is that no offer of gam could win him, and no
threatening terrify him. We find him here at the court of Lu in
friendly conference with the marquis, and trying to persuade him
to adopt the ways of Taoism, which he presents to him under the
figure of an allegory, an Utopia called 'the State of Established
Virtue/ in the south of Ytieh.

1 Probably known to us as ' duke Ai.'

3O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XX.

without the presence of any one. In the southern
state of Yiieh, there is a district called " the State of
Established Virtue." The people are ignorant and
simple; their object is to minimise the thought of
self and make their desires few ; they labour but do
not lay up their gains ; they give but do not seek
for any return ; they do not know what righteous-
ness is required of them in any particular case, nor
by what ceremonies their performances should be
signalised ; acting in a wild and eccentric way as if
they were mad, they yet keep to the grand rules
of conduct. Their birth is an occasion for joy;
their death is followed by the rites of burial.
I should wish your lordship to leave your state;
to give up your ordinary ways, and to proceed to
that country by the directest course/

The ruler said, ' The way to it is distant and
difficult ; there are rivers and hills ; and as I have
neither boat nor carriage, how am I to go ? ' The
officer from Shih-nan rejoined, ' If your lordship
abjure your personal state, and give up your wish
to remain here, that will serve you for a carriage/
The ruler rejoined, ' The way to it is solitary and
distant, and there are no people on it ; whom shall
I have as my companions ? I have no provisions
prepared, and how shall I get food ? how shall I
be able to get (to the country) ? ' The officer said,
1 Minimise your lordship's expenditure, and make
your wants few, and though you have no provisions
prepared, you will find you have enough. Wade
through the rivers and float along on the sea, where
however you look, you see not the shore, and, the
farther you go, you do not see where your journey
is to end ; those who escorted you to the shore will

PT. II. SECT. xni. THE WRITINGS OF J5TWANG.-3ZE. 3 I

return, and after that you will feel yourself far
away. Thus it is that he who owns men (as their
ruler) is involved in troubles, and he who is owned
by men (as their ruler) suffers from sadness ; and
hence Ydo would neither own men, nor be owned
by them. I wish to remove your trouble, and take
away your sadness, and it is only (to be done by
inducing you) to enjoy yourself with the T&o in
the land of Great Vacuity.

1 If a man is crossing a river in a boat, and an-
other empty vessel comes into collision with it, even
though he be a man of a choleric temper, he will
not be angry with it. If there be a person,
however, in that boat, he will bawl out to him to
haul out of the way. If his shout be not heard, he
will repeat it; and if the other do not then hear,
he will call out a third time, following up the shout
with abusive terms. Formerly he was not angry,
but now he is ; formerly (he thought) the boat was
empty, but now there is a person in it. If a man
can empty himself of himself, during his time in
the world, who can harm him ?'

3. Pei-kung She 1 was collecting taxes for duke
Ling of Wei, to be employed in making (a peal of)
bells. (In connexion with the work) he built an
altar outside the gate of the suburban wall ; and in
three months the bells were completed, even to the
suspending of the upper and lower (tiers). The
king's son Kfcmg-ki* saw them, and asked what

1 Pei-kung, 'Northern Palace/ must have been the name of
Sh6's residence, and appears here as if it were his surname.

2 A son, probably of king -Smg of jST&u (B. c. 544-529). On
the whole paragraph, see par. 10 of the preceding Book.

32 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XX.

arts he had employed in the making of them. She
replied, * Besides my undivided attention to them, I
did not venture to use any arts. I have heard the
saying, "After all the carving and the chiselling, let
the object be to return to simplicity." I was as a child
who has no knowledge ; I was extraordinarily slow
and hesitating ; they grew like the springing plants
of themselves. In escorting those who went and
meeting those who came, my object was neither to
hinder the comers nor detain the goers. I suffered
those who strongly opposed to take their way, and
accepted those who did their best to come to terms.
I allowed them all to do the utmost they could, and
in this way morning and evening I collected the
taxes. I did not have the slightest trouble, and
how much more will this be the case with those who
pursue the Great Way (on a grand scale) ' '

4. Confucius was kept (by his enemies) in a state
of siege between A^an and 3hii \ and for seven
days had no food cooked with fire to eat. The
ThAi-kung Zdn 2 went to condole with him, and
said, * You had nearly met with your death/ * Yes,'
was the reply. ' Do you dislike death ? ' 'I do.'
Then Zan continued, * Let me try and describe a
way by which (such a) death may be avoided. In
the eastern sea there are birds which go by the
name of I -Is 3 ; they fly low and slowly as if they
were deficient in power. They fly as if they were

1 Compare Analects XI, ii.

8 We might translate Thdi-kung by 'the grand-duke/ We
know nothing about him. He tries to convert Confucius to
Tdoism just as l-lia^o does the marquis of Lfi in par. 2 ; and for a
time at least, as Awang-jze makes it appear, with more success.

8 Were these 1-is swallows ? So some of the critics say.

PT. II, SECT. xni. THE WRITINGS OF JHVANG-3ZE. 33

leading and assisting one another, and they press on
one another when they roost. No one ventures to
take the lead in going forward, or to be the last in
going backwards. In eating no one ventures to take
the first mouthful, but prefers the fragments left by
others. In this way (the breaks in) their line are
not many \ and men outside them cannot harm them,
so that they escape injury.

' The straight tree is the first to be cut down ; the
well of sweet water is the first to be exhausted.
Your aim is to embellish your wisdom so as to
startle the ignorant, and to cultivate your person
to show the unsightliness of others. A light shines
around you as if you were carrying with you the
sun and moon, and thus it is that you do not escape
such calamity. Formerly I heard a highly accom-
plished man say, " Those who boast have no merit.
The merit which is deemed complete will begin to
decay. The fame which is deemed complete will
begin to wane." Who can rid himself of (the ideas
of) merit and fame, and return and put himself on
the level of the masses of men ? The practice of the
Tao flows abroad, but its master does not care to
dwell where it can be seen ; his attainments in it
hold their course, but he does not wish to appear in
its display. Always simple and commonplace, he
may seem to be bereft of reason. He obliterates
the traces of his action, gives up position and
power, and aims not at merit and fame. Therefore
he does not censure men, and men do not censure
him. The perfect man does not seek to be heard
of ; how is it that you delight in doing so ? '

1 A clause of uncertain meaning.
[40] D

34 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XX.

Confucius said, ' Excellent ;' and thereupon he took
leave of his associates, forsook his disciples, retired
to the neighbourhood of a great marsh, wore skins
and hair cloth, and ate acorns and chestnuts. He
went among animals without causing any confusion
among their herds, and among birds without troub-
ling their movements. Birds and beasts did not
dislike him ; how much less would men do so !

5. Confucius asked 3ze-sang Hfi 1 , saying, ' I was
twice driven from Lti ; the tree was felled over me
in Sung; I was obliged to disappear from Wei ; I was
reduced to extreme distress in Shang and A'&u 2 ; and
I was kept in a state of siege between A^an and
3h&i. I have encountered these various calamities ;
my intimate associates are removed from me more
and more ; my followers and friends are more and
more dispersed ; why have all these things befallen
me?' 3 ze ~ san g Hft replied, 'Have you not heard
of the flight of Lin Hui of K\&*\ how he abandoned
his round jade symbol of rank, worth a thousand
pieces of silver, and hurried away with his infant son
on his back ? If it be asked, " Was it because of the
market value of the child ? " But that value was
small (compared with the value of the jade token).
If it be asked again, " Was it because of the troubles

1 Supposed to have been a recluse.

2 I do not know the particulars of this distress in Shang and
AISu, or have forgotten them. A still more full recital of the sage's
misfortunes occurs in Lieh-jze, VII, 8 a .

3 The text here appears to be somewhat confused. Lm Hui is
said to have been a man of the Yin dynasty, and of a state which
was called .Aja, and for the verification of such a state I have
searched in vain. The explanation of his conduct put here into
his mouth is veiy good.

PT. II. SECT. xiii. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 35

(of his office) ? " But the child would occasion
him much more trouble. Why was it then that,
abandoning the jade token, worth a thousand pieces
of silver, he hurried away with the child on his back ?
Lin Hui (himself) said, "The union between me and
the token rested on the ground of gain ; that be-
tween me and the child was of Heaven's appoint-
ment." Where the bond of union is its profitable-
ness, when the pressure of poverty, calamity, dis-
tress, and injury come, the parties abandon one
another ; when it is of Heaven's appointment, they
hold in the same circumstances to one another.
Now between abandoning one another, and holding
to one another, the difference is great. Moreover,
the intercourse of superior men is tasteless as water,
while that of mean men is sweet as new wine. But
the tastelessness of the superior men leads on to
affection, and the sweetness of the mean men to
aversion. The union which originates without any
cause will end in separation without any cause/

Confucius said, * I have reverently received your
instructions/ And hereupon, with a slow step and an
assumed air of ease, he returned to his own house.
There he made an end of studying and put away his
books. His disciples came no more to make their
bow to him (and be taught), but their affection for
him increased the more.

Another day Sang Hti said further to him, ' When
Shun was about to die, he charged l Yii, saying, ' Be

1 The j|L yfr of the text here are allowed on all hands to be
spurious, and lit fj^ have been substituted for them. What
follows, however, from Shun to Yii, is far from being clear, in itself,
or in its connexion.

D 2

36 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XX.

upon your guard. (The attraction of) the person is
not like that of sympathy ; the (power of) affection
is not like the leading (of example). Where there
is sympathy, there will not be separation ; where
there is (the leading of) example, there will be no
toil. Where there is neither separation nor toil, you
will not have to seek the decoration of forms to
make the person attractive, and where there is no
such need of those forms, there will certainly be
none for external things/

6. .A^wang-jze in a patched dress of coarse cloth,
and having his shoes tied together with strings, was
passing by the king of Wei, who said to him, ' How
great, Master, is your distress ? ' ^fwang-jze replied,
v It is poverty, not distress ! While a scholar pos-
sesses the Tclo and its Attributes, he cannot be going
about in distress. Tattered clothes and shoes tied
on the feet are the sign of poverty, and not of dis-
tress. This is what we call not meeting with the
right time. Has your majesty not seen the climbing
monkey ? When he is among the plane trees,
rottleras, oaks, and camphor trees, he grasps and
twists their branches (into a screen), where he reigns
quite at his ease, so that not even I 1 or Ph^ng Mang 1
could spy him out. When, however, he finds himself
among the prickly mulberry and date trees, and
other thorns, he goes cautiously, casts sidelong
glances, and takes every trembling movement with
apprehension ; it is not that his sinews and bones

1 t; see Book V, par. 2. Phang Mang was a contemporary
of t, learned archery from him, and then slew him, that he might
himself be the foremost archer in the kingdom ; see Mencius IV,
11, 24.

PT. II. SECT. Xlii. THE WRITINGS OF WANG-3ZE. 37

are straitened, and have lost their suppleness, but
the situation is unsuitable for him, and he cannot
display his agility. And now when I dwell under a
benighted ruler, and seditious ministers, how is it
possible for me not to be in distress ? My case
might afford an illustration of the cutting out the
heart of Pi-kan l ! '

7. When Confucius was reduced to great distress
between 7\7/an and Kh&\, and for seven days he had
no cooked food to eat, he laid hold of a decayed tree
with his left hand, and with his right hand tapped it
with a decayed branch, singing all the while the ode
of Pi^o-shih 2 . He had his instrument, but the notes
were not marked on it. There was a noise, but no
blended melody. The sound of the wood and the
voice of the man came together like the noise of
the plough through the ground, yet suitably to the
feelings of the disciples around. Yen Hui, who was
standing upright, with his hands crossed on his
breast, rolled his eyes round to observe him. A'ung-
ni, fearing that Hui would go to excess in manifest-
ing how he honoured himself, or be plunged in
sorrow through his love for him, said to him, ' Hui,
not to receive (as evils) the inflictions of Heaven is
easy ; not to receive (as benefits) the favours of men
is difficult. There is no beginning which was not an
end. The Human and the Heavenly may be one

1 'A spurious paragraph, no doubt.' Lin H&f-^ung thus con-
cludes what he has to say on this paragraph , but it is not without
its interest and lessons.

2 I do not know who this was, nor what his ode or air was.
Lu Teh-ming read the character dSL and says that Piao-shih was
one of the old royal Tis who did nothing. In all my texts it is
wrongly printed with three

38 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XX.

and the same. Who, for instance, is it that is now
singing 1 ? ' Hui said, * I venture to ask how not to
receive (as evils) the inflictions of Heaven is easy/
-ATung-nl said, ' Hunger, thirst, cold, and heat, and
having one's progress entirely blocked up ; these
are the doings of Heaven and Earth, necessary
incidents in the revolutions of things. They are
occurrences of which we say that we will pass on
(composedly) along with them. The minister of
another does not dare to refuse his commands ; and
if he who is discharging the duty of a minister feels
it necessary to act thus, how much more should
we wait with ease on the commands of Heaven 2 ''
' What do you mean by saying that not to receive
(as benefits) the favours of men is difficult ? ' jffung-
nl said, * As soon as one is employed in office, he
gets forward in all directions ; rank and emolument
come to him together, and without end. But these
advantages do not come from one's self; it is my
appointed lot to have such external good. The
superior man is not a robber ; the man of worth is
no filcher; if I prefer such things, what am I 3 ?
Hence it is said, " There is no bird wiser than the
swallow." Where its eye lights on a place that is
not suitable for it, it does not give it a second
glance. Though it may drop the food from its

1 This question arose out of the previous statement that man
and Heaven might be one, acting with the same spontaneity.

2 Confucius recognises here, as he often does, a power beyond
his own, 'his appointed lot,' what we call destiny, to which the
Tao requires submission This comes veiy near to our idea
of God.

3 Human gifts had such an attraction, that they tended to take
from man his heavenly spontaneity ; and were to be eschewed, or
received only with gieat caution

PT. II. SECT. XIIT. THE WRITINGS OF JHVANG-SZE. 39

mouth, it abandons it, and hurries off. It is afraid
of men, and yet it stealthily takes up its dwelling
by his ; finding its protection in the altars of the
Land and Grain l .

' What do you mean by saying that there is no be-
ginning which was not an end?' A'ung-nl said, 'The
change rise and dissolution of all things (con-
tinually) goes on, but we do not know who it is that
maintains and continues the process. How do we
know when any one begins ? How do we know
when he will end ? We have simply to wait for it,
and nothing more 2 .'

4 And what do you mean by saying that the Human
and the Heavenly are one and the same ? ' A\mg-ni
said, ' Given man, and you have Heaven ; given
Heaven, and you still have Heaven (and nothing
more). That man can not have Heaven is owing
to the limitation of his nature 3 . The sagely man
quietly passes away with his body, and there is an
end of it.'

8. As A'wang A"au was rambling in the park of Tiao-
ling 4 he saw a strange bird which came from the
south. Its wings were seven cubits in width, and

1 What is said here about the swallow is quite obscure. Hsi-
/fcung says that all the old attempts to explain it are ridiculous,
and then propounds an ingenious one of his own; but I will
leave the passage with my reader to deal with it as he best can.

2 Compare with this how m Book XVIII we find -wang-^ze
singing by the dead body of his wife.

* That man is man and not Heaven is simply from the limi-
tation of his nature, his * appointed lot '

4 Tiao-lmg might be translated 'Eagle Mount/ Where it
was I do not know , perhaps the name originated with JEwang-jze,
and thus has become semi-historical.

4O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XX,

its eyes were large, an inch in circuit. It touched
the forehead of K&& as it passed him, and lighted
in a grove of chestnut trees. * What bird is this ? '
said he, ' with such great wings not to go on ! and
with such large eyes not to see me!' He lifted up
his skirts, and hurried with his cross-bow, waiting
for (an opportunity to shoot) it. (Meanwhile) he
saw a ciqada, which had just alighted in a beautiful
shady spot, and forgot its (care for its) body. (Just
then), a preying mantis raised its feelers, and pounced
on the cicada, in its eagerness for its prey, (also) for-
getting (its care for) its body ; while the strange bird
took advantage of its opportunity to secure them
both, in view of that gain forgetting its true (instinct
of preservation) ] . A'wang A'du with an emotion of
pity, said, * Ah ! so it is that things bring evil on
one another, each of these creatures invited its own
calamity/ (With this) he put away his cross-bow,
and was hurrying away back, when the forester pur-
sued him with terms of reproach.

When he returned and went into his house, he
did not appear in his courtyard 2 for three months 2 .
(When he came out), Lan $u 3 (his disciple) asked
him, saying, ' Master, why have you for this some
time avoided the courtyard so much ? ' /iwang-jze
replied, ' I was guarding my person, and forgot
myself; I was looking at turbid water, till I

3 -tfwang-jze might now have shot the bird, but we like him the
better for letting it alone.

2 So then, masters of schools, like AVang-jze, received and
taught their disciples in the courtyard of their house ; in China as
elsewheie. For thiee 'months/ it is conjectured, we should read
three ' days/

8 The disciple Lan 3^ appears heie, but not, so far as I know,
elsewhere.

PT. II. SECT. XIII. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE, 41

mistook the clear pool. And moreover I have
heard the Master say *, " Going- where certain cus-
toms prevail, you should follow those customs," I
was walking about in the park of Tido-ling, and
forgot myself. A strange bird brushed past my
forehead, and went flying about in the grove of
chestnuts, where it forgot the true (art of preserving
itself). The forester of the chestnut grove thought
that I was a fitting object for his reproach. These
are the reasons why I have avoided the courtyard/

9. Yang-jze, having gone to Sung, passed the night
in a lodging-house, the master of which had two
concubines; one beautiful, the other ugly 2 . The
ugly one was honoured, however, and the beautiful
one contemned. Yang-jze asked the reason, and a
little boy of the house replied, 4 The beauty knows
her beauty, and we do not recognise it. The ugly
one knows her ugliness, and we do not recognise it.'
Yang-jze said, ' Remember it, my disciples. Act
virtuously, and put away the practice of priding your-
selves on your virtue. If you do this, where can you
go to that you will not be loved J ? '

1 Who was this 'Master?'

2 The story here is found in Lieh-jze II, 15 a b . The Yang- jze
is there Yang ^ft, against whom Mencius so often dnected his
arguments.

3 See the greater part of this paragraph m Prdmare's c Notitia
Linguae Smicae/ p. 200, with his remarks on the style.

42 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXI.

BOOK XXI.

PART II. SECTION XIV.
Thien z

i. Thien 3 ze ~f an g> sitting in attendance on the
marquis Wan of Wei 2 , often quoted (with approba-
tion) the words of Khi Kung 3 . The marquis said,
* Is Kh\ Kung your preceptor?' 3 ze ~f an g replied,
( No. He only belongs to the same neighbourhood.
In speaking about the T&o, his views are often
correct, and therefore I quote them as I do.' The
marquis went on, ' Then have you no preceptor ? '
' I have/ ' And who is he ? ' ' He is Tung-kwo
Shun-jze 4 / 'And why, my Master, have I never
heard you quote his words ? ' 3 ze "f an g replied, ' He
is a man who satisfies the true (ideal of humanity) r ' ; a
man in appearance, but (having the mind of) Heaven.
Void of any thought of himself, he accommodates
himself to others, and nourishes the true ideal that
belongs to him. With all his purity, he is for-
bearing to others. Where they are without the
Tdo, he rectifies his demeanour, so that they under-
stand it, and in consequence their own ideas melt

1 See vol xxxix, pp. 151, 152. 2 B c. 424-387

3 Some well-known worthy of Wei

4 A greater worthy still. He must have lived near the outside
suburban wall of the capital, and his residence became a sort of
surname.

B The Human and the Heavenly were blended in his personality.

Pi. II. SECT. xiv. THE WRITINGS OF J5TWANG-3ZE. 43

away and disappear. How should one like me be
fit to quote his words ? '

When 3ze-fang went out, the marquis Wan con-
tinued in a state of dumb amazement all the day.
He then called Lung Ll-A4Sn, and said to him,
1 How far removed from us is the superior man of
complete virtue ! Formerly I thought the words of
the sages and wise men, and the practice of benevo-
lence and righteousness, to be the utmost we could
reach to. Since I have heard about the preceptor of
3ze-fang, my body is all unstrung, and I do not wish
to move, and my mouth is closed up, and I do not
wish to speak ; what I have learned has been only
a counterfeit of the truth \ Yes, (the possession of
Wei) has been an entanglement to me/

2. Wan-po Hsueh-jze -, on his way to Kh\, stayed
some time in Lti, where some persons of the state
begged to have an interview with him. He refused
them, saying, ' I have heard that the superior men
of these Middle States 3 understand the (subjects
of) ceremony and righteousness, but are deplorably
ignorant of the minds of men. I do not wish to see
them/ He went on to Khi\ and on his way back
(to the south), he again stayed in Lfi,when the same
persons begged as before for an interview. He then
said, ( Formerly they asked to see me, and now
again they seek an interview. They will afford me

1 So the Khang-hsf dictionary defines the phrase ; f a wooden
image made of earth,' says Lfi Shti-/$ih.

2 A 1 aoist of note from some region in the south, perhaps from
A'/fcu, having his own share of the Taoistic contempt for knowledge
and culture.

3 Probably Lu and the northern states grouped closely round the
royal domain,

44 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxi.

some opportunity of bringing out my sentiments.'
He went out accordingly and saw the visitors, and
came in again with a sigh. Next day the same
thing occurred, and his servant said to him, ' How is
it that whenever you see those visitors, you are sure
to come in again sighing ? ' 'I told you before/ was
the reply, ' that the people of these Middle States
understand (the subjects of) ceremony and righteous-
ness, but are deplorably ignorant of the minds of
men. Those men who have just seen me, as they
came in and went out would describe, one a circle
and another a square, and in their easy carriage
would be like, one a dragon and another a tiger.
They remonstrated with me as sons (with their
fathers), and laid down the way for me as fathers
(for their sons). It was this which made me sigh/

Aung-ni saw the man, but did not speak a word
to him. 3 ze ~lti sa id, ' You have wished, Sir, to see
this Wan-po Hsueh-jze for a long time ; what is the
reason that when you have seen him, you have not
spoken a word ? ' A^ung-ni replied, * As soon as my
eyes lighted on that man, the Tao in him was appa-
rent. The situation did not admit of a word being
spoken/

3. Yen Yuan asked Afung-nl, saying, * Master, when
you pace quietly along, I also pace along; when
you go more quickly, I also do the same ; when
you gallop, I also gallop ; but when you race along
and spurn the dust, then I can only stand and look,
and keep behind you V The Master said, ' Hui, what
do you mean?' The reply was, 'In saying that
"when you, Master, pace quietly along, I also pace

1 They are both supposed to be on horseback.

PT. II. SECT. xiv. THE WRITINGS OF *WANG-3ZE. 45

along," I mean 1 that when you speak, I also speak.
By saying, " When you go more quickly, I also do
the same/' I mean 1 that when you reason, I also
reason. By saying, " When you gallop, I also gallop,"
I mean 1 that when you speak of the Way, I also
speak of the Way ; but by saying, " When you race
along and spurn the dust, then I can only stare, and
keep behind you," I am thinking how though you do
not speak, yet all men believe you ; though you are
no partisan, yet all parties approve your catholicity ;
and though you sound no instrument, yet people all
move on harmoniously before you, while (all the
while) I do not know how all this comes about ; and
this is all which my words are intended to express 2 /
A'ung-nl said, ' But you must try and search the
matter out. Of all causes for sorrow there is none
so great as the death of the mind ; the death of
man's (body) is only next to it The sun comes
forth in the east, and sets in the extreme west;
all things have their position determined by these
two points. All that have eyes and feet wait for
this (sun), and then proceed to do what they have
to do. When this comes forth, they appear in their
places ; when it sets, they disappear. It is so with
all things. They have that for which they wait,
and (on its arrival) they die; they have that for
which they wait, and then (again) they live. When
once I receive my frame thus completed, I remain
unchanged, awaiting the consummation of my course.

1 In these thiee cases the ^ of the text should be ^.

2 So Hui is made to represent the master as a mental Thauma-
thurgist, and Confucius is made to try to explain the whole thing
to him ; but not to my mind successfully. Still a distinction is
maintained between the mind and the body.

46 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxi.

I move as acted on by things, day and night with-
out cessation, and I do not know when I will
come to an end. Clearly I am here a completed
frame, and even one who (fancies that he) knows
what is appointed cannot determine it beforehand.
I am in this way daily passing on, but all day
long I am communicating my views to you ; and
now, as we are shoulder to shoulder you fail (to
understand me) ; is it not matter for lamentation ?
You are able in a measure to set forth what I more
clearly set forth ; but that is passed away, and you
look for it, as if it were still existing, just as if you
were looking for a horse in the now empty place
where it was formerly exhibited for sale. You have
very much forgotten my service to you, and I have
very much forgotten wherein I served you. But
nevertheless why should you account this such an
evil? What you forget is but my old self; that
which cannot be forgotten remains with me/

4. Confucius went to see L&o Tan, and arrived
just as he had completed the bathing of his head,
and was letting his dishevelled hair get dry. There
he was, motionless, and as if there were not another
man in the world \ Confucius waited quietly ; and,
when in a little time he was introduced, he said, * Were
my eyes dazed ? Is it really you ? Just now, your
body, Sir, was like the stump of a rotten tree. You
looked as if you had no thought of anything, as if
you had left the society of men, and were standing
in the solitude (of yourself). 1 Lao Tan replied, ' I was
enjoying myself in thinking about the commencement

1 He was in the Taoistic trance, like Nan-kwo 3ze-^i, at the
beginning of the second Book.

PT. II. SECT. xiv. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 47

of things 1 / * What do you mean ?' ' My mind is so
cramped, that I hardly know it; my tongue is so
tied that I cannot tell it ; but I will try to describe
it to you as nearly as I can. When the state of
Yin was perfect, all was cold and severe; when the
state of Yang was perfect, all was turbulent and
agitated. The coldness and severity came forth
from Heaven ; the turbulence and agitation issued
from Earth. The two states communicating to-
gether, a harmony ensued and things were produced.
Some one regulated and controlled this, but no one
has seen his form. Decay and growth ; fulness and
emptiness ; darkness and light ; the changes of the
sun and the transformations of the moon : these
are brought about from day to day ; but no one sees
the process of production. Life has its origin from
which it springs, and death has its place from which
it returns. Beginning and ending go on in mutual
contrariety without any determinable commence-
ment, and no one knows how either comes to an
end. If we disallow all this, who originates and
presides over all these phenomena ? '

Confucius said, ' I beg to ask about your enjoy-
ment in these thoughts/ Lo Tan replied, ' The

1 This 'commencement of things' was not the equivalent of
' our creation out of nothing/ for Lao Tan immediately supposes
the existence of the primary ether in its twofold state, as Yin and
Yang; and also of Heaven and Earth, as a twofold Power working,
under some regulation and control, yet invisible ; that is, under the
Tio. In the same way the process of beginning and ending,
growth and decay, life and death go on, no one knows how, or
how long. And the contemplation of all this is the cause of
unceasing delight to the Perfect man, the possessor of the Tdo.
Death is a small matter, merely as a change of feature; and
Confucius acknowledges his immeasurable inferiority to Lao-jze.

48 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxi.

comprehension of this is the most admirable and the
most enjoyable (of all acquisitions). The getting
of the most admirable and the exercise of the
thoughts in what is the most enjoyable, consti-
tutes what we call the Perfect man/ Confucius
said, ' I should like to hear the method of attain-
ing to it/ The reply was, 'Grass-eating animals
do not dislike to change their pastures ; creatures
born in the water do not dislike to change their
waters. They make a small change, but do not
lose what is the great and regular requirement
(of their nature) ; joy, anger, sadness, and delight
do not enter into their breasts (in connexion with
such events). Now the space under the sky is
occupied by all things in their unity. When they
possess that unity and equally share it, then the
four limbs and hundred members of their body are
but so much dust and dirt, while death and life,
their ending and beginning, are but as the succes-
sion of day and night, which cannot disturb their
enjoyment ; and how much less will they be troubled
by gains and losses, by calamity and happiness !
Those who renounce the paraphernalia of rank do
it as if they were casting away so much mud ;
they know that they are themselves more honour-
able than those paraphernalia. The honour belong-
ing to one's self is not lost by any change (of con-
dition). Moreover, a myriad transformations may
take place before the end of them is reached. What
is there in all this sufficient to trouble the mind ?
Those who have attained to the Tdo understand
the subject/

Confucius said, ' O Master, your virtue is equal to
that of Heaven and Earth, and still I must borrow

PT. II. SECT. xiv. THE WRITINGS OF tfWANG-SZE. 49

(some of your) perfect words (to aid me) in the
cultivation of my mind. Who among the superior
men of antiquity could give such expression to
them?* Lio Tan replied, 'Not so. Look at the
spring, the water of which rises and overflows ;
it does nothing, but it naturally acts so. So with
the perfect man and his virtue ; he does not culti-
vate it, and nothing evades its influence. He is
like heaven which is high of itself, like earth which
is solid of itself, like the sun and moon which shine
of themselves ; what need is there to cultivate it ?'
Confucius went out and reported the conversation
to Yen Hui, saying, ' In the (knowledge of the) Tdo
am I any better than an animalcule in vinegar ?
But for the Master's lifting the veil from me, I
should not have known the grand perfection of
Heaven and Earth/

5 At an interview of Awang-jze with duke Ai L
of Lti, the duke said, ' There are many of the
Learned class in Lu ; but few of them can be com-
pared with you, Sir.' AVang-^ze replied, ' There
are few Learned men in Lft.' ' Everywhere in Lfi,'
rejoined the duke, * you see men wearing the dress
of the Learned 2 ; how can you say that they are
few ?' ' I have heard,' said A"wang-jze, * that those
of them who wear round caps know the times of
heaven ; that those who wear square shoes know
the contour of the ground ; and that those who
saunter about with semicircular stones at their

1 Duke Ai of Lu died in B.C. 468, a century and more before the
birth of A'wang-jze. On that, as well as on other grounds, the
paragraph cannot be genuine.

2 Compare the thirty-eighth Book of the Li A*i, where Confucius
denies that there was any dress peculiar to the scholar.

[40] E

5O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK, XXI.

girdle-pendents settle matters in dispute as they
come before them. But superior men who are pos-
sessed of such knowledge will not be found wear-
ing the dress, and it does not follow that those who
wear the dress possess the knowledge. If your
Grace think otherwise, why not issue a notification
through the state, that it shall be a capital offence
to wear the dress without possessing the knowledge/
On this the duke issued such a notification, and in
five days, throughout all Lfi, there was no one who
dared to wear the dress of the Learned. There
was only one old man who came and stood in it at
the duke's gate. The duke instantly called him in,
and questioned him about the affairs of the state,
when he talked about a thousand points and ten
thousand divergences from them. A^wang-jze said,
' When the state of Lfi can thus produce but one man
of the Learned class, can he be said to be many?'

6. The ideas of rank and emolument did not enter
the mind of Pai-ll Hsl 1 , and so he became a cattle-
feeder, and his cattle were all in fine condition. This
made duke MA of K/im forget the meanness of his
position, and put the government (of his state) into
his hands. Neither life nor death entered into the
mind of (Shun), the Lord of Yii, and therefore he
was able to influence others 2 .

7. The ruler Yuan 3 of Sung wishing to have a map

1 Pai-li Hsi, a remaikable character of the seventh century B.C,
who rose to be chief minister to Mu, the earl (or duke) of A^m, the
last of the five Leading Princes of the kingdom. Mu died in
B c. 621. Mencms has much to say of Pai-li Hsf.

2 Shun's parents wished to kill him ; but that did not trouble his
mind , his filial piety even affected them

8 His fiist year as duke of Sung was B.C. 530. The point of
the story is not clear.

PT. II. SECT. XIV. THE WRITINGS OF .KAVANG-32E. 5 I

drawn, the masters of the pencil all came (to under-
take the task). Having received his instructions and
made their bows, they stood, licking their pencils
and preparing their ink. Half their number, how-
ever, remained outside. There was one who came
late, with an air of indifference, and did not hurry
forward. When he had received his instructions
and made his bow, he did not keep standing, but
proceeded to his shed. The duke sent a man to see
him, and there he was, with his upper garment off,
sitting cross-legged, and nearly naked. The ruler
said, * He is the man ; he is a true draughtsman/

8. King Wan was (once) looking about him at
3ang x , when he saw an old man fishing 2 . But his
fishing was no fishing. It was not the fishing of one
whose business is fishing. He was always fishing
(as if he had no object in the occupation). The
king wished to raise him to office, and put the
government into his hands, but was afraid that such
a step would give dissatisfaction to his great minis-
ters, his uncles, and cousins. He then wished to
dismiss the man altogether from his mind, but he
could not bear the thought that his people should
be without (such a) Heaven (as their Protector).
On this, (next) morning, he called together his great
officers, and said to them, * Last night, I dreamt that
I saw a good man, with a dark complexion and a

1 Where 3 an g was cannot be told.

2 The old fisherman here was, no doubt, the first maiquis of
Kh\, after the establishment of the dynasty of A'au, known by
various names, as Lu Shang, Thai-kung Wang, and ^iang
3ze-ya. He did much for the new rule, but his connexion with
kings Wan and Wu is a mass of fables. The fishing as if he
were not fishing betokened in him the aimlessness of the Tao.

E 2

52 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXI.

beard, riding on a piebald horse, one half of whose
hoofs were red, who commanded me, saying, "Lodge
your government in the hands of the old man of
dang ; and perhaps the evils of your people will be
cured."' The great officers said eagerly, 'It was
the king, your father.' King Wan said, * Let us
then submit the proposal to the tortoise-shell/ They
replied, * It is the order of your father. Let not
your majesty think of any other. Why divine
about it ? ' (The king) then met the old man of
;}ang, and committed the government to him.

The statutes and laws were not changed by him ;
not a one-sided order (of his own) was issued , but
when the king made a survey of the kingdom after
three years, he found that the officers had destroyed
the plantations (which harboured banditti), and dis-
persed their occupiers, that the superintendents of
the official departments did not plume themselves on
their successes, and that no unusual grain measures
were allowed within the different states 1 . When the
officers had destroyed the dangerous plantations and
dispersed their occupants, the highest value was set
on the common interests , when the chiefs of de-
partments did not plume themselves on their suc-
cesses, the highest value was set on the common
business ; when unusual grain measures did not
enter the different states, the different princes had
no jealousies. On this king Wan made the old
man his Grand Preceptor, and asked him, with his
own face to the north, whether his government
might be extended to all the kingdom. The old

3 That is, that all combinations formed to icsist and waip the
course of justice had been put an end to.

PT IT. SECT. xiv. THE WRITINGS OF 5TWANG-3ZE. 53

man looked perplexed and gave no reply, but with
aimless look took his leave. In the morning he had
issued his orders, and at night he had gone his way ;
nor was he heard of again all his life. Yen Yuan
questioned Confucius, saying, ' Was even king Wan
unequal to determine his course ? What had he to
do with resorting to a dream?' A^ung-ni replied,
' Be silent and do not say a word ! King Wan was
complete in everything. What have you to do with
criticising him ? He only had recourse (to the
dream) to meet a moment's difficulty.'

9. Lieh Yu-khclu was exhibiting his archery l to
Po-hwan WO-^an 2 . Having drawn the bow to its
full extent, with a cup of water placed on his elbow,
he let fly. As the arrow was discharged, another
was put in its place ; and as that was sent off, a
third was ready on the string. All the while he
stood like a statue. Po-hwan WtWan said, ' That
is the shooting of an archer, but not of one who
shoots without thinking about his shooting. Let me
go up with you to the top of a high mountain, tread-
ing with you among the tottering rocks, till we arrive
at the brink of a precipice, 800 cubits deep, and (I
will then see) if you can shoot.' On this they went
up a high mountain, making their way among the
tottering rocks, till they came to the brink of a
precipice 800 cubits deep. Then Wft-an turned
round and walked backwards, till his feet were two-

1 This must be the meaning of the ^), 'for/ The whole
story is found in Lieh-ze, II, p. 5. From Lieh's Book VIII, p. 2,
we learn that Lieh-jze's teacher in archery was Yin Hsi, the warden
of the pass famous in the history of Lao-jze.

2 Mentioned in Book V, par. 2.

54 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK.xxr.

thirds of their length outside the edge, and beckoned
Yu-khdu to come forward. He, however, had fallen
prostrate on the ground, with the sweat pouring
down to his heels. Then the other said, ' The Per-
fect man looks up to the azure sky above, or dives
down to the yellow springs beneath, or soars away
to the eight ends of the universe, without any change
coming over his spirit or his breath. But now the
trepidation of your mind appears in your dazed eyes ;
your inward feeling of peril is extreme ! '

10. A'ien Wft asked Sun-shu Ao 1 , saying, ' You,
Sir, were thrice chief minister, and did not feel
elated; you were thrice dismissed from that posi-
tion, without manifesting any sorrow. At first I
was in doubt about you, (but I am not now, since)
I see how regularly and quietly the breath comes
through your nostrils. How is it that you exercise
your mind?' Sun-shO Ao replied, ' In what do I
surpass other men ? When the position came to
me, I thought it should not be rejected ; when it was
taken away, I thought it could not be retained. I
considered that the getting or losing it did not make
me what I was, and was no occasion for any mani-
festation of sorrow ; that was all. In what did I
surpass other men ? And moreover, I did not know
whether the honour of it belonged to the dignity, or
to myself. If it belonged to the dignity, it was
nothing to me ; if it belonged to me, it had nothing

1 Sun-shu Ao; see Mencius VI, 11, 15. He was, no doubt,
a good and able man, chief minister to king A^wang of Khb.
The legends or edifying stories about him are many , but ^wang-
jze, I think, is the author of his being thrice laised and thrice
dismissed from office.

PT. II. SECT. xiv. THE WRITINGS OF tfWANG-SZE 55

to do with the dignity. While occupied with these
uncertainties, and looking round in all directions,
what leisure had I to take knowledge of whether
men honoured me or thought me mean ? '

A'ung-ni heard of all this, and said, ' The True
men of old could not be fully described by the
wisest, nor be led into excess by the most beautiful,
nor be forced by the most violent robber. Neither
Fft-hst nor Hwang-Tl could compel them to be
their friends. Death and life are indeed great con-
siderations, but they could make no change in their
(true) self, and how much less could rank and
emolument do so ? Being such, their spirits might
pass over the Th&i mountain and find it no obstacle
to them l ; they might enter the greatest gulphs, and
not be wet by them ; they might occupy the lowest
and smallest positions without being distressed by
them. Theirs was the fulness of heaven and
earth ; the more that they gave to others, the more
they had/

The king of Kh& and the ruler of Fan 2 were
sitting together. After a little while, the attendants
of the king said, 'Fan has been destroyed three
times/ The ruler of Fan rejoined, 'The destruction
of Fan has not been sufficient to destroy what we
had that was most deserving to be preserved/ Now,

1 It is difficult to see why this should be predicated of the
1 spirits' of the True men.

2 Fan was a small state, held at one time by descendants of the
famous duke of .ffau; see the 3o .Owan, I, vii, 6; V, xxiv, 2.
But we do not know what had been the relations between the
powerful Khb and the feeble Fan, which gave rise to and could
explain the remarks made at the entertainment, more honourable to
Fan than to JE&ft.

56 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK.XXI

if the destruction of Fan had not been sufficient to
destroy that which it had most deserving to be
preserved, the preservation of Khh had not been
sufficient to preserve that in it most deserving to be
preserved. Looking at the matter from this point
of view, Fan had not begun to be destroyed, and
had not begun to be preserved.

PT. II. SECT. XV. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 57

BOOK XXII.
PART II. SECTION XV.

Pei Yu, or ' Knowledge Rambling in the
North 1 /

i. Knowledge 2 had rambled northwards to the
region of the Dark Water 3 , where he ascended the
height of Imperceptible Slope 3 , when it happened
that he met with Dumb Inaction 2 . Knowledge
addressed him, saying, ' I wish to ask you some
questions : By what process of thought and anxious
consideration do we get to know the Tdo ? Where
should we dwell and what should we do to find our
rest in the Tao ? From what point should we start
and what path should we pursue to make the Tao
our own ? ' He asked these three questions, but
Dumb Inaction 2 gave him no reply. Not only did
he not answer, but he did not know how to answer.

Knowledge 2 , disappointed by the fruitlessness of
his questions, returned to the south of the Bright

1 See vol. xxxix, p. 152.

2 All these names are metaphorical, having more or less to do
with the qualities of the Tao, and are used as the names of per-
sonages, devoted to the pursuit of it. It is difficult to translate the
name .Owang Khh ( Jjl). An old reading is f|jj, which
Medhurst explains by 'Bent or Crooked Discourse/ ' Blurter/
though not an elegant English term, seems to express the idea our
author would convey by it. Hwang-Tf is different from the other
names, but we cannot regard him as here a real personage.

a These names of places are also metaphorical and Tdoistic.

58 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxil.

Water 1 , and ascended the height of the End of
Doubt 1 , where he saw Heedless Blurter, to whom
he put the same questions, and who replied, * Ah !
I know, and will tell you/ But while he was about
to speak, he forgot what he wanted to say.

Knowledge, (again) receiving no answer to his
questions, returned to the palace of the Ti 2 , where
he saw Hwang-T! 3 , and put the questions to him.
Hwang-Tl said, ' To exercise no thought and no
anxious consideration is the first step towards know-
ing the Tcio; to dwell nowhere and do nothing is
the first step towards resting in the Tio; to start
from nowhere and pursue no path is the first step
towards making the To your own/

Knowledge then asked Hwang-Tl, saying, ' I and
you know this ; those two did not know it ; which
of us is right ? ' The reply was, ' Dumb Inaction tj
is truly right ; Heedless Blurter has an appearance-
of being so ; I and you are not near being so. (As
it is said), " Those who know (the Tao) do not speak
of it ; those who speak of it do not know it 4 ; " and
" Hence the sage conveys his instructions without
the use of speech 4 /' The Tao cannot be made
ours by constraint ; its characteristics will not come
to us (at our call). Benevolence may be practised ;
Righteousness may be partially attended to ; by
Ceremonies men impose on one another. Hence it

1 See note 3, on preceding page.

2 Ti might seem to be used here for * God/ but its juxtaposition
with Hwang-T i is against our translating it so.

s See note 2, on preceding page.

* See the Tio Teh King, chaps. 56 and 2. ^ffwang-^ze is
quoting, no doubt, these two passages, as he vaguely intimates
I think by the ^, with which the sentence commences.

PT. II. SECT. XV. THE WRITINGS OF ATWANG-3ZE. 59

is said, "When the Tdo was lost, its Characteristics
appeared. When its Characteristics were lost, Bene-
volence appeared. When Benevolence was lost,
Righteousness appeared. When Righteousness was
lost, Ceremonies appeared. Ceremonies are but
(the unsubstantial) flowers of theTio, and the com-
mencement of disorder V Hence (also it is further
said), " He who practises the To, daily diminishes
his doing. He diminishes it and again diminishes
it, till he arrives at doing nothing. Having arrived
at this non-inaction, there is nothing that he does
not do V Here now there is something, a regularly
fashioned utensil ; if you wanted to make it return
to the original condition of its materials, would it
not be difficult to make it do so ? Could any but
the Great Man accomplish this easily 2 ?

' Life is the follower of death, and death is the
predecessor of life; but who knows the Arranger
(of this connexion between them) 3 ? The life is
due to the collecting of the breath. When that is
collected, there is life ; when it is di s spersed, there
is death. Since death and life thus attend on each
other, why should I account (either of) them an evil ?

1 Therefore all things go through one and the
same experience. (Life) is accounted beautiful be-
cause it is spirit-like and wonderful, and death is
accounted ugly because of its foetor and putridity.
But the foetid and putrid is transformed again into
the spirit-like and wonderful, and the spirit-like and
wonderful is transformed again into the foetid and

1 See the TSo Teh A'mg, chaps. 38 and 48.

2 This sentence is metaphorical of the Tao, whose spell is
broken by the intrusion of Knowledge.

3 This ' Arranger ' is the Tdo.

6O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXII.

putrid. Hence it is said, "All under the sky there
is one breath of life, and therefore the sages prized
that unity 1 /

Knowledge 2 said to Hwang-Ti 2 , ' I asked Dumb
Inaction 2 , and he did not answer me. Not only
did he not answer me, but he did not know how to
answer me. I asked Heedless Blurter, and while he
wanted to tell me, he yet did not do so. Not only
did he not tell me, but while he wanted to tell me,
he forgot all about my questions. Now I have
asked you, and you knew (all about them) ; why
(do you say that) you are not near doing so ? '
Hwang-Tl replied, 'Dumb Inaction 2 was truly
right, because he did not know the thing. Heedless
Blurter 2 was nearly right, because he forgot it. I
and you are not nearly right, because we know it.'
Heedless Blurter 2 heard of (all this), and considered
that Hwang-Tl 2 knew how to express himself (on
the subject).

2. (The operations of) Heaven and Earth proceed
in the most admirable way, but they say nothing
about them ; the four seasons observe the clearest
laws, but they do not discuss them ; all things have
their complete and distinctive constitutions, but they
say nothing about them 3 .

The sages trace out the admirable operations of
Heaven and Earth, and reach to and understand the
distinctive constitutions of all things ; and thus it is
that the Perfect Man (is said to) do nothing and the
Greatest Sage to originate nothing, such language
showing that they look to Heaven and Earth as

1 I have not been able to trace this quotation to its source.

2 See note 2, p. 57. 8 Compare Analects XVII, xix, 3.

PT. II. SECT. XV. THE WRITINGS OF J5TWANG-3ZE. 6 1

their model 1 . Even they, with their spirit-like and
most exquisite intelligence, as well as all the tribes
that undergo their transformations, the dead and
the living, the square and the round, do not under-
stand their root and origin, but nevertheless they
all from the oldest time by it preserve their being.

Vast as is the space included within the six car-
dinal points, it all (and all that it contains) lies within
(this twofold root of Heaven and Earth) ; small as is
an autumn hair, it is indebted to this for the com-
pletion of its form. All things beneath the sky, now
rising, now descending, ever continue the same
through this. The Yin and Yang, and the four
seasons revolve and move by it, each in its proper
order. Now it seems to be lost in obscurity, but it
continues ; now it seems to glide away, and have no
form, but it is still spirit-like. All things are nou-
rished by it, without their knowing it. This is what
is called the Root and Origin ; by it we may obtain
a view of what we mean by Heaven 2 .

3. Nieh A7meh 3 asked about the Tio from Phei-1 3 ,
who replied, * If you keep your body as it should be,
and look only at the one thing, the Harmony of
Heaven will come to you. Call in your knowledge,
and make your measures uniform, and the spiritual
(belonging to you) will come and lodge with you ;
the Attributes (of the Tdo) will be your beauty, and
the Tao (itself) will be your dwelling-place. You
will have the simple look of a new-born calf, and

1 Compare the Tdo Teh A'mg, ch. 25.

2 The binomial ' Heaven and Earth ' here gives place to the one
term ' Heaven/ which is often a synonym of Tao.

3 See his character in Book XII, par. 5, where Phei-t also is
mentioned.

62 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxil.

will not seek to know the cause (of your being what
you are)/ Phei-f had not finished these words when
the other dozed off into a sleep.

Phei-1 was greatly pleased, and walked away, sing-
ing as he went,

' Like stump of rotten tree his frame,

Like lime when slaked his mind became 1 .

Real is his wisdom, solid, true,

Nor cares what's hidden to pursue.

O dim and dark his aimless mind!

No one from him can counsel find.

What sort of man is he ? '

4. Shun asked (his attendant) A7;ang 2 , saying,
' Can I get the Tao and hold it as mine ?' The
reply was, ' Your body is not your own to hold ;
how then can you get and hold the Tao? 1 Shun
resumed, ' If my body be not mine to possess and
hold, who holds it ?' A r ^ang said, ' It is the bodily
form entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Life
is not yours to hold. It is the blended harmony (of
the Yin and Yang), entrusted to you by Heaven
and Earth. Your nature, constituted as it is, is not
yours to hold. It is entrusted to you by Heaven
and Earth to act in accordance with it. Your
grandsons and sons are not yours to hold. They
are the exuviae 3 entrusted to you by Heaven and
Earth. Therefore when we walk, we should not
know where we are going ; when we stop and rest,
we should not know what to occupy ourselves with ;

1 See the account of Nan-kwo $ze-khi in Book II, par. i

2 Not the name of a man, but an office.

8 The term m the text denotes the cast-off skin or shell of
insects, snakes, and crabs. See the account of death and life in
par. i.

PT.IT. SECT. xv. THE WRITINGS OF WANG-3ZE. 63

when we eat, we should not know the taste of our
food; all is done by the strong Yang influence of
Heaven and Earth *. How then can you get (the
Tao), and hold it as your own ? '

5. Confucius asked Lo Tan, saying, * Being at
leisure to-day, I venture to ask you about the Per-
fect Tdo/ Lao Tan replied, ' You must, as by
fasting and vigil, clear and purge your mind, wash
your spirit white as snow, and sternly repress your
knowledge. The subject of the Tao is deep, and
difficult to describe ; I will give you an outline of
its simplest attributes.

* The Luminous was produced from the Obscure ;
the Multiform from the Unembodied ; the Spiritual
from the Tdo; and the bodily from the seminal
essence. After this all things produced one another
from their bodily organisations. Thus it is that
those which have nine apertures are born from the
womb, and those with eight from eggs 2 . But their
coming leaves no trace, and their going no monu-
ment ; they enter by no door ; they dwell in no
apartment 3 : they are in a vast arena reaching in
all directions. They who search for and find (the
Tao) in this are strong in their limbs, sincere and
far-reaching in their thinking, acute in their hearing,
and clear in their seeing. They exercise their minds
without being toiled ; they respond to everything
aright without regard to place or circumstance.
Without this heaven would not be high, nor earth

1 It is an abstiuse point why only the Yang is mentioned here,
and described as ' strong/

2 It is not easy to see the pertinence of this illustration.

8 Hu Wan-ying says, ' With this one word our author sweeps
away the teaching of Purgatorial Sufferings/

64 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XX II.

broad; the sun and moon would not move, and
nothing would flourish : such is the operation of
the T&o.

' Moreover, the most extensive knowledge does
not necessarily know it ; reasoning will not make
men wise in it ; the sages have decided against
both these methods. However you try to add to it,
it admits of no increase ; however you try to take
from it, it admits of no diminution ; this is what
the sages maintain about it. How deep it is, like
the sea ! How grand it is, beginning again when it
has come to an end ! If it carried along and sus-
tained all things, without being overburdened or
weary, that would be like the way of the superior
man, merely an external operation ; when all things
go to it, and find their dependence in it ; this is
the true character of the Tao.

' Here is a man (born) in one of the middle-
states 1 . He feels himself independent both of the
Yin and Yang 2 , and dwells between heaven and
earth ; only for the present a mere man, but he will
return to his original source. Looking at him in
his origin, when his life begins, we have (but) a gela-
tinous substance in which the breath is collecting.
Whether his life be long or his death early, how
short is the space between them ! It is but the name
for a moment of time, insufficient to play the part of
a good Ydo or a bad A'ieh in.

1 The fruits of trees and creeping plants have
their distinctive characters, and though the relation-

1 The commentatois suppose that by 'the man 'here there is
intended ' a sage ; ' and they would seem to be correct.

2 Compare the second sentence in the Tdo Teh ^mg, ch. 42.

PT. ii. SECT. xv. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-SZE. 65

ships of men, according to which they are classi-
fied, are troublesome, the sage, when he meets
with them, does not set himself in opposition to
them, and when he has passed through them, he
does not seek to retain them ; he responds to them
in their regular harmony according to his virtue;
and even when he accidentally comes across any of
them, he does so according to the Tdo. It was thus
that the Tls flourished, thus that the kings arose.

* Men's life between heaven and earth is like a
white 1 colt's passing a crevice, and suddenly dis-
appearing. As with a plunge and an effort they all
come forth ; easily and quietly they all enter again.
By a transformation they live, and by another trans-
formation they die. Living things are made sad (by
death), and mankind grieve for it ; but it is (only) the
removal of the bow from its sheath, and the empty-
ing the natural satchel of its contents. There may
be some confusion amidst the yielding to the change ;
but the intellectual and animal souls are taking their
leave, and the body will follow them : This is the
Great Returning home.

* That the bodily frame came from incorporeity,
and will return to the same, is what all men in com-
mon know, and what those who are on their way to
(know) it need not strive for. This is what the
multitudes of men discuss together. Those whose
(knowledge) is complete do not discuss it ; such
discussion shows that their (knowledge) is not com-
plete. Even the most clear-sighted do not meet

1 Why is it the colt here is ' white ? ' Is it to heighten the im-
pression made by his speedy disappearing? or is it merely the
adoption of the phrase from the Shih, II, iv, 2 ?
[40] F

66 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXII.

(with the T&o) ; it is better to be silent than to
reason about it. The Tio cannot be heard with
the ears ; it is better to shut the ears than to try
and hear it. This is what is called the Great
Attainment/

6. Tung-kwo 3 ze * asked AVang-jze, saying,
'Where is what you call the To to be found?'
A'wang-jze replied, ' Everywhere/ The other said,
* Specify an instance of it. That will be more satis-
factory/ * It is here in this ant/ * Give a lower
instance/ ' It is in this panic grass/ ' Give me a
still lower instance/ ' It is in this earthenware tile/
' Surely that is the lowest instance ? ' ' It is in that
excrement 2 / To this Tung-kwo 3 z e gave no reply.
A"wang-jze said, ' Your questions, my master, do
not touch the fundamental point (of the Tdo). They
remind me of the questions addressed by the super-
intendents of the market to the inspector about ex-'
amining the value of a pig by treading on it, and
testing its weight as the foot descends lower and
lower on the body 3 . You should not specify any
particular thing. There is not a single thing with-
out (the Tao). So it is with the Perfect Tao. And
if we call it the Great (Tao), it is just the same.
There are the three terms, "Complete," "All-
embracing," " the Whole." These names are differ-

1 Perhaps the Tung-kwo Shun-jze of Bk XXI, par. i.

* A contemptuous reply, provoked by Tung-kwo's repeated in-
tei rogation as to where the Tao was to be found, the only question
being as to what it was.

8 We do not know the practices from which our author draws
his illustrations here sufficiently to make out his meaning clearly.
The signification of the characters Jp and jjfig may be gathered
indeed from the 1 Li, Books 7-9 ; but that is all,

PT. II. SECT. XV. THE WRITINGS OF tfWANG-3ZE, 67

ent, but the reality (sought in them) is the same ;
referring to the One thing 1 .

'Suppose we were to try to roam about in
the palace of No-where ; when met there, we
might discuss (about the subject) without ever
coming to an end. Or suppose we were to be to-
gether in (the region of) Non-action ; should we
say that (the To was) Simplicity and Stillness ? or
Indifference and Purity ? or Harmony and Ease ?
My will would be aimless. If it went nowhere, I
should not know where it had got to ; if it went and
came again, I should not know where it had stopped ;
if it went on going and coming, I should not know
when the process would end. In vague uncertainty
should I be in the vastest waste. Though I entered
it with the greatest knowledge, I should not know
how inexhaustible it was. That which makes things
what they are has not the limit which belongs to
things, and when we speak of things being limited,
we mean that they are so in themselves. (The
Tao) is the limit of the unlimited, and the bound-
lessness of the unbounded.

* We speak of fulness and emptiness ; of withering
and decay. It produces fulness and emptiness, but
is neither fulness nor emptiness ; it produces wither-
ing and decay, but is neither withering nor decay.
It produces the root and branches, but is neither root
nor branch ; it produces accumulation and dispersion,
but is itself neither accumulated nor dispersed/

7. A-ho Kan 2 and Shan Nang studied together

1 The meaning of this other illustiation is also very obscure to
me ; and much of what follows to the end of the paragraph.

2 We can hardly be said to know anything more of the first and
third of these men than what is mentioned here.

F 2

68 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXII.

under L&o-lung Ki. Shan NSng l was leaning for-
ward on his stool, having shut the door and gone
to sleep in the day time. At midday A-ho Kan
pushed open the door and entered, saying, 'Lo-
lung is dead/ Shan NSng leant forward on his
stool, laid hold of his staff and rose. Then he laid
the staff aside with a clash, laughed and said, ' That
Heaven knew how cramped and mean, how arrogant
and assuming I was, and therefore he has cast me
off, and is dead. Now that there is no Master to
correct my heedless words, it is simply for me to
die 1 ' Yen Kang, (who had come in) to condole,
heard these words, and said, 'It is to him who em-
bodies the Tclo that the superior men everywhere
cling. Now you who do not understand so much
as the tip of an autumn hair of it, not even the ten-
thousandth part of the Tao, still know how to keep
hidden your heedless words about it and die ; how -
much more might he who embodied the T^o do so I
We look for it, and there is no form ; we hearken
for it, and there is no sound. When men try to
discuss it, we call them dark indeed. When they
discuss the Tao, they misrepresent it. 1

Hereupon Grand Purity 2 asked Infinitude 2 , say-
ing, ' Do you know the Tdo?' ' I do not know it/
was the reply. He then asked Do-nothing 2 , who
replied, ' I know it/ ' Is your knowledge of it de-

Shan Nang is well known, as coming in the chronological list
between Ffl-hsf and Hwang-Tl; and we are surprised that a
higher place is not given to him among the Taoist patriarchs than
our author assigns to him here.

8 These names, like those in the first paragraph of the Book,
are metaphorical, intended, no doubt, to set forth attributes of the
TSo, and to suggest to the reader what it is or what it is not.

PT. ii. SECT. XV. THE WRITINGS OF ffWANG-3ZE. 69

termined by various points? 1 'It is/ 'What are
they?' Do-nothing 1 said, 'I know that the To
may be considered noble, and may be considered
mean, that it may be bound and compressed, and
that it may be dispersed and diffused. These are
the marks by which I know it/ Grand Purity took
the words of those two, and asked No-beginning 1 ,
saying, * Such were their replies ; which was right ?
and which was wrong ? Infinitude's saying that he
did not know it? or Do-nothings saying that he
knew it ? ' No-beginning said, ' The " I do not
know it" was profound, and the "I know it" was
shallow. The former had reference to its internal
nature ; the latter to its external conditions. Grand
Purity looked up and sighed, saying, ' Is " not to
know it" then to know it ? And is " to know it" not
to know it ? But who knows that he who does not
know it (really) knows it ? ' No-beginning replied,
'The T&o cannot be heard; what can be heard is
not It. The T&o cannot be seen; what can be
seen is not It. The Tio cannot be expressed in
words ; what can be expressed in words is not It.
Do we know the Formless which gives form to
form? In the same way the Tdo does not admit
of being named/

No-beginning (further) said, 'If one ask about the
T&o and another answer him, neither of them knows
it. Even the former who asks has never learned
anything about the Tdo. He asks what does not
admit of being asked, and the latter answers where
answer is impossible. When one asks what does
not admit of being asked, his questioning is in (dire)

1 See note 2 on last page.

7O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXII.

extremity. When one answers where answer is im-
possible, he has no internal knowledge of the subject.
When people without such internal knowledge wait
to be questioned by others in dire extremity, they
show that externally they see nothing of space and
time, and internally know nothing of the Grand Com-
mencement l . Therefore they cannot cross over the
Khwan-lun 2 , nor roam in the Grand Void/

8. Starlight 3 asked Non-entity 3 , saying, 'Master,
do you exist? or do you not exist?' He got no
answer to his question, however, and looked sted-
fastly to the appearance of the other, which was that
of a deep void. All day long he looked to it, but
could see nothing ; he listened for it, but could hear
nothing ; he clutched at it, but got hold of nothing 4 .
Starlight then said, ' Perfect ! Who can attain to
this ? I can (conceive the ideas of) existence and
non-existence, but I cannot (conceive the ideas of)
non-existing non-existence, and still there be a non-
existing existence. How is it possible to reach to
this?'

9. The forger of swords for the Minister of War
had reached the age of eighty, and had not lost a
hair's-breadth of his ability 6 . The Minister said to

1 The first beginning of all things or of anything.

2 The Khwan-lun may be considered the Sacred Mountain of
Taoism.

3 The characters Kwang Yao denote the points of light all
over the sky, ' dusted with stars/ I can think of no better transla-
tion for them, as personified here, than * starlight/ * Non-entity '
is a personification of the Tao; as no existing thing, but the idea
of the order that pervades and regulates throughout the universe.

4 A quotation from the Tao Teh -dfing, ch. 14.

8 Compare the case of the butcher in Bk. Ill, and other similar
passages.

PT. II. SECT. XV. THE WRITINGS OF ffWANG-3ZE. 71

him, ' You are indeed skilful, Sir. Have you any
method that makes you so ?' The man said, 'Your
servant has (always) kept to his work. When I was
twenty, I was fond of forging swords. I looked at
nothing else. I paid no attention to anything but
swords. By my constant practice of it, I came to be
able to do the work without any thought of what
I was doing. By length of time one acquires ability
at any art ; and how much more one who is ever at
work on it ! What is there which does not depend
on this, and succeed by it ? '

10. Zan AVzift 1 asked A'ung-ni, saying, 'Can it be
known how it was before heaven and earth ?' The
reply was, ' It can. It was the same of old as now/
Zan A^ift asked no more and withdrew. Next
day, however, he had another interview, and said,
' Yesterday I asked whether it could be known how
it was before heaven and earth, and you, Master,
said, " It can. As it is now, so it was of old."
Yesterday, I seemed to understand you clearly, but
to-day it is dark to me. I venture to ask you for
an explanation of this/ Aung-nl said, * Yesterday
you seemed to understand me clearly, because your
own spiritual nature had anticipated my reply. To-
day it seems dark to you, for you are in an
unspiritual mood, and are trying to discover the
meaning. (In this matter) there is no old time and
no present ; no beginning and no ending. Could it be
that there were grandchildren and children before
there were (other) grandchildren and children 2 ? '

1 One of the disciples of Confucius ; Analects VI, 3.

2 Hfi Wln-ying says, ' Before there can be grandsons and sons
there must be grandfathers and fathers to transmit them, so before

72 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXII.

Kfa& had not made any reply, when A^mg-ni
went on, ' Let us have done. There can be no an-
swering (on your part). We cannot with life give
life to death ; we cannot with death give death to
life. Do death and life wait (for each other) ? There
is that which contains them both in its one com-
prehension \ Was that which was produced before
Heaven and Earth a thing ? That which made
things and gave to each its character was not itself
a thing. Things came forth and could not be be-
fore things, as if there had (previously) been things ;
as if there had been things (producing one an-
other) without end. The love of the sages for
others, and never coming to an end, is an idea
taken from this 2 /

ii. Yen Yuan asked Aung-nl, saying, 'Master, I
have heard you say, " There should be no demon-
stration of welcoming ; there should be no move-
ment to meet ;" I venture to ask in what way this
affection of the mind may be shown.' The reply
was, ' The ancients, amid (all) external changes, did
not change internally ; now-a-days men change
internally, but take no note of external changes
When one only notes the changes of things, himself
continuing one and the same, he does not change.
How should there be (a difference between) his
changing and not changing ? How should he put
himself in contact with (and come under the influence
of) those external changes ? He is sure, however,

there were (the present) heaven and earth, there must have been
another heaven and eaith.' But I am not sure that he has in this
remark exactly caught our author's meaning.

1 Meaning the Tao. 2 An obscure remark.

PT.II. SECT. XV. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 73

to keep his points of contact with them from being
many. The park of Shih-wei 1 , the garden of Hwang-
Tl, the palace of the Lord of Yii, and the houses of
Thang and Wfi ; (these all were places in which
this was done). But the superior men (so called, of
later days), such as the masters of the Literati and
of Mohism, were bold to attack each other with their
controversies ; and how much more so are the men of
the present day ! Sages in dealing with others do
not wound them ; and they who do not wound others
cannot be wounded by them. Only he whom others
do not injure is able to welcome and meet men.

' Forests and marshes make me joyful and glad ;
but before the joy is ended, sadness comes and
succeeds to it. When sadness and joy come, I can-
not prevent their approach ; when they go, I cannot
retain them. How sad it is that men should only
be as lodging-houses for things, (and the emotions
which they excite) ! They know what they meet,
but they do not know what they do not meet ; they
use what power they have, but they cannot be
strong where they are powerless. Such ignorance
and powerlessness is what men cannot avoid. That
they should try to avoid what they cannot avoid, is
not this also sad ? Perfect speech is to put speech
away; perfect action is to put action away ; to digest
all knowledge that is known is a thing to be despised/

1 This personage has occurred before in Bk. VI, par 7, at the
head of the most ancient sovereigns, who were in possession of the
Tao. His ' park ' as a place for moral and intellectual inquiry is
here mentioned ; so early was there a certain quickening of the
mental faculties in China.

74 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxin.

BOOK XXIII.

PART III. SECTION I.

Kang-sang Khh^.

i. Among the disciples 2 of Lo Tan there was a
Kang-sang Kku, who had got a greater knowledge
than the others of his doctrines, and took up his
residence with it in the north at the hill of Wei-lei 3 .
His servants who were pretentious and knowing he
sent away, and his concubines who were officious
and kindly he kept at a distance ; living (only) with
those who were boorish and rude, and employing
(only) the bustling and ill-mannered 4 . After three
years there was great prosperity 5 in Wei-lei, and
the people said to one another, ' When Mr. Kang-
sang first came here, he alarmed us, and we thought
him strange ; our estimate of him after a short
acquaintance was that he could not do us much
good ; but now that we have known him for years,
we find him a more than ordinary benefit. Must he
not be near being a sage? Why should you not

1 See vol. xxxix, p. 153.

* The term in the text commonly denotes ' servants.' It would
seem here simply to mean ' disciples.'

8 Assigned variously. Probably the mount Yii in the ( Tribute
of Yu/ a hill in the present department of Tng-au, Shan-tung

4 The same phraseology occurs in Bk. XI, par. 5 ; and also in
the Shih, II, vi, i, q. v.

8 That is, abundant harvests. The J| of the common text
should, probably, be 3

PT. III. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF JHVANG-3ZE. 75

unite in blessing him as the representative of our
departed (whom we worship), and raise an altar to
him as we do to the spirit of the grain l ? ' K&ng-
sang heard of it, kept his face indeed to the south 2 ,
but was dissatisfied.

His disciples thought it strange in him, but he
said to them, ' Why, my disciples, should you think
this strange in me ? When the airs of spring come
forth, all vegetation grows ; and, when the autumn
arrives, all the previous fruits of the earth are
matured. Do spring and autumn have these effects
without any adequate cause ? The processes of the
Great Tcio have been in operation. I have heard
that the Perfect man dwells idly in his apartment
within its surrounding walls 3 , and the people get wild
and crazy, not knowing how they should repair to
him. Now these small people of Wei-lei in their
opinionative way want to present their offerings to
me, and place nfe among such men of ability and
virtue. But am I a man to be set up as such a
model ? It is on this account that I am dissatisfied
when I think of the words of Lao Tan V

2. His disciples said, * Not so. In ditches eight
cubits wide, or even twice as much, big fishes can-
not turn their bodies about, but minnows and eels
find them sufficient for them 5 ; on hillocks six or

1 I find it difficult to tell what these people wanted to make of
JPXft, further than what he says himself immediately to his disciples.
I cannot think that they wished to make him their ruler.

2 This is the proper position for the sovereign in his court, and
for the sage as the teacher of the woild. Kh& accepts it in the
latter capacity, but with dissatisfaction.

3 Compare the Lf A", Bk. XXXVIII, par. 10, et al.

4 As if he were one with the Tdo.

c I do not see the appropriateness here of the &(j in the text.

76 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxm.

seven cubits high, large beasts cannot conceal them-
selves, but foxes of evil omen find it a good place
for them. And moreover, honour should be paid to
the wise, offices given to the able, and preference
shown to the good and the beneficial. From of old
Yo and Shun acted thus ; how much more may
the people of Wei-16i do so ! O Master, let them
have their way!'

Kang-sang replied, ' Come nearer, my little child-
ren. If a beast that could hold a carriage in its
mouth leave its hill by itself, it will not escape
the danger that awaits it from the net ; or if a fish
that could swallow a boat be left dry by the
flowing away of the water, then (even) the ants are
able to trouble it. Thus it is that birds and beasts
seek to be as high as possible, and fishes and
turtles seek to lie as deep as possible. In the
same way men who wish to preserve their bodies
and lives keep their persons concealed, and they do
so in the deepest retirement possible. And more-
over, what was there in those sovereigns to entitle
them to your laudatory mention ? Their sophis-
tical reasonings (resembled) the reckless breaking
down of walls and enclosures and planting the wild
rubus and wormwood in their place ; or making the
hair thin before they combed it ; or counting the
grains of rice before they cooked them J . They
would do such things with careful discrimination ;
but what was there in them to benefit the world ?
If you raise the men of talent to office, you will
create disorder ; making the people strive with one

1 All these condemnatory descriptions of Yo and Shun aie
eminently Tdoistic, but so metaphorical that it is not easy to
appreciate them.

PT. ill. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 77

another for promotion ; if you employ men for their
wisdom, the people will rob one another (of their
reputation) ! . These various things are insufficient
to make the people good and honest. They are
very eager for gain ; a son will kill his father, and
a minister his ruler (for it). In broad daylight men
will rob, and at midday break through walls. Aell
you that the root of the greatest disorder was
planted in the times of Ydo and Shun. The
branches of it will remain for a thousand ages;
and after a thousand ages men will be found eating
one another V

3. (On this) Nan-yung Kh\\ 3 abruptly sat right up
and said, * What method can an old man like me
adopt to become (the Perfect man) that you have
described ? ' Kang-sang 3 z e said, ' Maintain your
body complete ; hold your life in close embrace ;
and do not let your thoughts keep working anxiously :
do this for three years, and you may become the
man of whom I have spoken/ The other rejoined,
1 Eyes are all of the same form, I do not know any
difference between them: yet the blind have no
power of vision. Ears are all of the same form ; I
do not know any difference between them : yet
the deaf have no power of hearing. Minds are all
of the same nature, I do not know any difference
between them ; yet the mad cannot make the
minds of other men their own. (My) personality is
indeed like (yours), but things seem to separate

1 Compare the Tdo Teh A'ing, ch. 3.

2 Khh is in all this too violent.

8 A disciple of K^ng-sang Khb ; ' a sincere seeker of the Tdo,
very much to be pitied/ says Lin Hsf-ung.

78 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM, BK. xxm.

between us 1 . I wish to find in myself what there is
in you, but I am not able to do so \ You have now
said to me, " Maintain your body complete ; hold
your life in close embrace ; and do not let your
thoughts keep working anxiously." With all my
efforts to learn your Way, (your words) reach only
my ears/ Kang-sang replied, ' I can say nothing
more to you,' and then he added, ' Small flies cannot
transform the bean caterpillar 2 ; Yiieh 3 fowls can-
not hatch the eggs of geese, but LA fowls 3 can. It
is not that the nature of these fowls is different ;
the ability in the one case and inability in the other
arise from their different capacities as large and
small. My ability is small and not sufficient to
transform you. Why should you not go south and
see Lio-jze ? '

4. Nan-yung Kh& hereupon took with him some
rations, and after seven days and seven nights
arrived at the abode of Ldo-jze, who said to him,
' Are you come from Kktis ? ' 'I am/ was the
reply. 'And why, Sir, have you come with such a
multitude of attendants 4 ?' Nan-yung was frightened,
and turned his head round to look behind him.
Lclo-jze said, ' Do you not understand my meaning ? '
The other held his head down and was ashamed,
and then he lifted it up, and sighed, saying, ' I for-
got at the moment what I should reply to your

1 The J|J^ in the former of these sentences is difficult. I take
it in the sense of ^, and read it phi.

2 Compare the Shih, II, v, Ode 2, 3.

8 I believe the fowls of Shan-tung are still larger than those of

ang or Fti-&en.
4 A good instance of LSo's metaphorical style.

PT. III. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF JSTWANG-3ZE. 79

question, and in consequence I have lost what I
wished to ask you/ * What do you mean ? ' ' If I
have not wisdom, men say that I am stupid *, while
if I have it, it occasions distress to myself. If I
have not benevolence, then (I am charged) with
doing hurt to others, while if I have it, I distress
myself. If I have not righteousness, I (am charged
with) injuring others, while if I have it, I distress
myself. How can I escape from these dilemmas ?
These are the three perplexities that trouble me ;
and I wish at the suggestion of Kkb to ask you
about them/ Lio-jze replied, * A little time ago,
when I saw you and looked right into your eyes 2 , I
understood you, and now your words confirm the
judgment which I formed. You look frightened and
amazed. You have lost your parents, and are try-
ing with a pole to find them at the (bottom of) the
sea. You have gone astray ; you are at your wit's
end. You wish to recover your proper nature, and
you know not what step to take first to find it. You
are to be pitied ! '

5. Nan-yung Kith, asked to be allowed to enter
(the establishment), and have an apartment assigned
to him 3 . (There) he sought to realise the qualities
which he loved, and put away those which he hated.
For ten days he afflicted himself, and then waited
again on Lio-jze, who said to him, ' You must purify
yourself thoroughly ! But from your symptoms of

1 In the text j. The must be an erroneous addition,
or probably it is a mistake for the speaker's name ftjg.

2 Literally, ' between the eye-brows and eye-lashes/

8 Thus we are as it were in the school of Ldo-jze, and can see
how he deals with his pupils.

8O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxill.

distress, and signs of impurity about you, I see there
still seem to cling to you things that you dislike.
When the fettering influences from without become
numerous, and you try to seize them (you will find
it a difficult task) ; the better plan is to bar your
inner man against their entrance. And when the
similar influences within get intertwined, it is a
difficult task to grasp (and hold them in check) ; the
better plan is to bar the outer door against their
exit. Even a master of the T&o and its character-
istics will not be able to control these two influences
together, and how much less can one who is only
a student of the Tdo do so ! f Nan-yung Kh\i said,
'A certain villager got an illness, and when his neigh-
bours asked about it, he was able to describe the
malady, though it was one from which he had not
suffered before. When I ask you about the Grand
To, it seems to me like drinking medicine which
(only serves to) increase my illness. I should like
to hear from you about the regular method of
guarding the life ; that will be sufficient for me/
Ldo-jze replied, '(You ask me about) the regular
method of guarding the life ; can you hold the One
thing fast in your embrace ? Can you keep from
losing it ? Can you know the lucky and the unlucky
without having recourse to the tortoise-shell or the
divining stalks ? Can you rest (where you ought to
rest) ? Can you stop (when you have got enough) ?
Can you give over thinking of other men, and seek
what you want in yourself (alone) ? Can you flee
(from the allurements of desire) ? Can you maintain
an entire simplicity ? Can you become a little child ?
The child will cry all the day, without its throat
becoming hoarse ; so perfect is the harmony (of

PT. III. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 8 1

its physical constitution). It will keep its fingers
closed all the day without relaxing their grasp;
such is the concentration of its powers. It will keep
its eyes fixed all day, without their moving ; so is
it unaffected by what is external to it. It walks
it knows not whither ; it rests where it is placed, it
knows not why; it is calmly indifferent to things,
and follows their current. This is the regular method
of guarding the life V

6. Nan-yung Kith said, 'And are these all the
characteristics of the Perfect man ? ' Lio-jze replied,
* No. These are what we call the breaking up of
the ice, and the dissolving of the cold. The Perfect
man, along with other men, gets his food from the
earth, and derives his joy from his Heaven (-conferred
nature). But he does not like them allow himself
to be troubled by the consideration of advantage or
injury coming from men and things ; he does not
like them do strange things, or form plans, or enter
on undertakings ; he flees from the allurements of
desire, and pursues his way with an entire sim-
plicity. Such is the way by which he guards his
life/ ' And is this what constitutes his perfection ? '
' Not quite. I asked you whether you could become
a little child. The little child moves unconscious of
what it is doing, and walks unconscious of whither
it is going. Its body is like the branch of a rotten
tree, and its mind is like slaked lime 2 . Being such,
misery does not come to it, nor happiness. It has

1 In this long reply there are many evident recognitions of
passages in the Tio Teh ^Tmg; compare chapters 9, 10,

55, 58-

a See the description of &ze-&fii's Tdoistic trance at the begin-
ning of the second Book.

[40] G

82 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXIII.

neither misery nor happiness ; how can it suffer
from the calamities incident to men 1 ? '

7. 2 He whose mind 3 is thus grandly fixed emits a
Heavenly light. In him who emits this heavenly
light men see the (True) man. When a man has
cultivated himself (up to this point), thenceforth he
remains constant in himself. When he is thus con-
stant in himself, (what is merely) the human element
will leave him 4 , but Heaven will help him. Those
whom their human element has left we call the
people of Heaven 4 . Those whom Heaven helps
we call the Sons of Heaven. Those who would by
learning attain to this 5 seek for what they cannot

1 Nan-yung Khh. disappears here. His first master, Kang-sang
, disappeared in paragraph 4. The different way in which his

name is written by Sze-ma, A7/ien is mentioned in the brief intro-
ductory note on p 153. It should have been further stated there
that in the Fourth Book of Lieh-jze (IV, 2^-3^) some account of
him is given with his name as written by Khizn. A great officer of
.Oan is introduced as boasting of him that he was a sage, and,
through his masteiy of the punciples of Lao Tan, could hear with
his eyes and see with his ears Hereupon Khang-jhang is brought
to the couit of the marquis of Lti to whom he says that the report of
him which he had heard was false, adding that he could dispense
with the use of his senses altogether, but could not alter their several
functions. This being reported to Confucius, he simply laughs at
it, but makes no remark.

2 I suppose that from this to the end of the Book we have the
sentiments of ^"wang-jze himself. Whether we consider them his,
or the teachings of Ldo-jze to his visitor, they are among the
depths of Taoism, which I will not attempt to elucidate in the
notes here.

3 The character which I have translated 'mind' here is fe
meaning ' the side walls of a house/ and metaphorically used for 'the
breast,' as the house of the mind. Hu explains it by ^ jjgj.

4 He is emancipated from the human as contrary to the heavenly.
The Tao.

PT. III. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF ATWANG-3ZE, 83

learn. Those who would by effort attain to this,
attempt what effort can never effect. Those who
aim by reasoning to reach it reason where reasoning
has no place. To know to stop where they cannot
arrive by means of knowledge is the highest attain-
ment Those who cannot do this will be destroyed
on the lathe of Heaven.

8. Where things are all adjusted to maintain the
body ; where a provision against unforeseen dangers
is kept up to maintain the life of the mind ; where
an inward reverence is cherished to be exhibited (in
all intercourse) with others ; where this is done,
and yet all evils arrive, they are from Heaven, and
not from the men themselves. They will not be
sufficient to confound the established (virtue of the
character), or be admitted into the Tower of Intelli-
gence. That Tower has its Guardian, who acts
unconsciously, and whose care will not be effective,
if there be any conscious purpose in it 1 . If one who
has not this entire sincerity in himself make any
outward demonstration, every such demonstration
will be incorrect. The thing will enter into him,
and not let go its hold. Then with every fresh
demonstration there will be still greater failure. If
he do what is not good in the light of open day,
men will have the opportunity of punishing him ;
if he do it in darkness and secrecy, spirits 2 will
inflict the punishment. Let a man understand this
his relation both to men and spirits, and then he
will do what is good in the solitude of himself.

1 This Guardian of the Mind or Tower of Intelligence is the
Tao.

2 One of the rare introductions of spiritual agency in the early
Taoism.

G 2

84 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXIII.

He whose rule of life is in himself does not act
for the sake of a name. He whose rule is outside
himself has his will set on extensive acquisition.
He who does not act for the sake of a name emits
a light even in his ordinary conduct ; he whose will
is set on extensive acquisition is but a trafficker.
Men see how he stands on tiptoe, while he thinks
that he is overtopping others. Things enter (and
take possession of) him who (tries to) make himself
exhaustively (acquainted with them), while when one
is indifferent to them, they do not find any lodg-
ment in his person. And how can other men find
such lodgment ? But when one denies lodgment to
men, there are none who feel attachment to him.
In this condition he is cut off from other men. There
is no weapon more deadly than the will ] ; even
Mit-y6 2 was inferior to it. There is no robber
greater than the Yin and Yang, from whom nothing
can escape of all between heaven and earth. But
it is not the Yin and Yang that play the robber ;
it is the mind that causes them to do so.

9. The T4o is to be found in the subdivisions (of
its subject) ; (it is to be found) in that when com-
plete, and when broken up. What I dislike in con-
sidering it as subdivided, is that the division leads
to the multiplication of it ; and what I dislike in
that multiplication is that it leads to the (thought
of) effort to secure it. Therefore when (a man)

1 That is, the will, man's own human element, in opposition to
the Heavenly element of the Tdo.

2 One of the two famous swords made for Ho-lii, the king of
Wu. See the account of their making in the seventy-fourth chapter
Of the 'History of the Various States; 1 very marvellous, but evidently,
and acknowledged to be, fabulous.

PT. III. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF WANG-3ZE. 85

comes forth (and is born), if he did not return (to
his previous non-existence), we should have (only)
seen his ghost ; when he comes forth and gets this
(return), he dies (as we say). He is extinguished,
and yet has a real existence : (this is another way
of saying that in life we have) only man's ghost
By taking the material as an emblem of the im-
material do we arrive at a settlement of the case of
man. He comes forth, but from no root; he re-
enters, but by no aperture. He has a real existence,
but it has nothing to do with place ; he has con-
tinuance, but it has nothing to do with beginning or
end. He has a real existence, but it has nothing to
do with place, such is his relation to space; he has
continuance, but it has nothing to do with beginning
or end, such is his relation to time ; he has life ; he
has death; he comes forth; he enters; but we do
not see his form ; all this is what is called the door
of Heaven. The door of Heaven is Non-Existence.
All things come from non-existence. The (first)
existences could not bring themselves into exist-
ence ; they must have come from non-existence.
And non-existence is just the same as non-existing.
Herein is the secret of the sages.

10. Among the ancients there were those whose
knowledge reached the extreme point. And what
was that point? There were some who thought
that in the beginning there was nothing. This was
the extreme point, the completest reach of their
knowledge, to which nothing could be added. Again,
there were those who supposed that (in the begin-
ning) there were existences, proceeding to consider
life to be a (gradual) perishing, and death a return-
ing (to the original state). And there they stopped,

86 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXIII*

making, (however), a distinction between life and
death. Once again there were those who said, ' In
thfc beginning there was nothing ; by and by there
was life ; and then in a little time life was succeeded
by death. We hold that non-existence was the head,
life the body, and death the os coccygis. But
of those who acknowledge that existence and non-
existence, death and life, are all under the One
Keeper, we are the friends/ Though those who
maintained these three views were different, they
were so as the different branches of the same ruling
Family (of Khti) \ the Aaos and the A*ings, bear-
ing the surname of the lord whom they honoured as
the author of their branch, and the Alas named
from their appanage ; (all one, yet seeming) not to
be one.

The possession of life is like the soot that collects
under a boiler. When that is differently distributed;
the life is spoken of as different. But to say that life
is different in different lives, and better in one than
in another, is an improper mode of speech. And yet
there may be something here which we do not know.
(As for instance), at the Id sacrifice the paunch and
the divided hoofs may be set forth on separate
dishes, but they should not be considered as parts of
different victims ; (and again), when one is inspect-
ing a house, he goes over it all, even the adytum
for the shrines of the temple, and visits also the
most private apartments ; doing this, and setting a
different estimate on the different parts.

Let me try and speak of this method of appor-

1 Both LSo and A*wang belonged to Khb, and this illustration
was natural to them.

PT. III. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 87

tioning one's approval : life is the fundamental
consideration in it ; knowledge is the instructor.
From this they multiply their approvals and dis-
approvals, determining what is merely nominal and
what is real. They go on to conclude that to them-
selves must the appeal be made in everything, and
to try to make others adopt them as their model ;
prepared even to die to make good their views on
every point. In this way they consider being em-
ployed in office as a mark of wisdom, and not being
so employed as a mark of stupidity, success as
entitling to fame, and the want of it as disgraceful.
The men of the present day who follow this differen-
tiating method are like the cicada and the little
dove * ; there is no difference between them.

ii. When one treads on the foot of another in
the market-place, he apologises on the ground of the
bustle. If an elder tread on his younger brother, he
proceeds to comfort him ; if a parent tread on a
child, he says and does nothing. Hence it is said,
' The greatest politeness is to show no special
respect to others ; the greatest righteousness is to
take no account of things ; the greatest wisdom is to
lay no plans ; the greatest benevolence is to make
no demonstration of affection ; the greatest good
faith is to give no pledge of sincerity/

Repress the impulses of the will ; unravel the
errors of the mind ; put away the entanglements to
virtue ; and clear away all that obstructs the free
course of the TSo. Honours and riches, distinctions
and austerity, fame and profit ; these six things pro-
duce the impulses of the will Personal appearance

1 See in Bk. I, par. 2.

88 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxm.

and deportment, the desire of beauty and subtle
reasonings, excitement of the breath and cherished
thoughts ; these six things produce errors of the
mind. Hatred and longings, joy and anger, grief
and delight ; these six things are the entanglements
to virtue. Refusals and approachments, receiving
and giving, knowledge and ability ; these six things
obstruct the course of the Tio. When these four
conditions, with the six causes of each, do not
agitate the breast, the mind is correct. Being cor-
rect, it is still; being still, it is pellucid; being
pellucid, it is free from pre-occupation ; being free
from pre-occupation, it is in the state of inaction, in
which it accomplishes everything.

The To is the object of reverence to all the
virtues. Life is what gives opportunity for the dis-
play of the virtues. The nature is the substantive
character of the life. The movement of the nature
is called action. When action becomes hypocritical,
we say that it has lost (its proper attribute).

The wise communicate with what is external to
them and are always laying plans. This is what
with all their wisdom they are not aware of ; they
look at things askance. When the action (of the
nature) is from external constraint, we have what
is called virtue ; when it is all one's own, we have
what is called government. These two names seem
to be opposite to each other, but in reality they are
in mutual accord.

1 2. 1 l was skilful in hitting the minutest mark, but
stupid in wishing men to go on praising him without
end. The sage is skilful Heavenwards, but stupid

1 See on V, par. 2.

PT. III. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-3ZE. 89

manwards. It is only the complete man who can
be both skilful Heavenwards and good manwards.

Only an insect can play the insect, only an insect
show the insect nature. Even the complete man
hates the attempt to exemplify the nature of
Heaven. He hates the manner in which men do
so, and how much more would he hate the doing so
by himself before men !

When a bird came in the way of 1, he was sure
to obtain it ; such was his mastery with his bow.
If all the world were to be made a cage, birds would
have nowhere to escape to. Thus it was that
Thang caged 1 Yin by making him his cook 1 , and
that duke Mfi of A^in caged Pai-li Hs! by giving
the skins of five rams for him 2 . But if you try to
cage men by anything but what they like, you will
never succeed.

A man, one of whose feet has been cut off, dis-
cards ornamental (clothes) ; his outward appearance
will not admit of admiration. A criminal under
sentence of death will ascend to any height without
fear ; he has ceased to think of life or death.

When one persists in not reciprocating the gifts
(of friendship), he forgets all others. Having for-
gotten all others, he may be considered as a
Heaven-like man. Therefore when respect is shown
to a man, and it awakens in him no joy, and when
contempt awakens no anger, it is only one who
shares in the Heaven-like harmony that can be thus.
When he would display anger and yet is not angry,
the anger comes out in that repression of it. When
he would put forth action, and yet does not do so,

1 See Mencius V, i, 7. 2 Mencius V, i, 9.

9O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXIII.

the action is in that not-acting. Desiring to be quies-
cent, he must pacify all his emotions ; desiring to be
spirit-like, he must act in conformity with his mind.
When action is required of him, he wishes that it
may be right; and it then is under an inevitable
constraint. Those who act according to that in-
evitable constraint pursue the way of the sage.

PT. III. SECT. II. THE WRITINGS OF tfWANG-3ZE. 9 1

BOOK XXIV.
PART III. SECTION II.

Hsu Wti-kwei 1 .

I. Hsii Wti-kwei having obtained through Nil
Shang 2 an introduction to the marquis Wfl of Wei 3 ,
the marquis, speaking to him with kindly sympathy 4 ,
said, ' You are ill, Sir ; you have suffered from your
hard and laborious toils 4 in the forests, and still you
have been willing to come and see poor me 5 / Hsii
Wfi-kwei replied, ' It is I who have to comfort your
lordship ; what occasion have you to comfort me ?
If your lordship go on to fill up the measure of
your sensual desires, and to prolong your likes and
dislikes, then the condition of your mental nature
will be diseased, and if you discourage and repress
those desires, and deny your likings and dislikings,
that will be an affliction to your ears and eyes

1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 153, 154.

2 A favourite and minister of the marquis Wfi.

8 This was the second marquis of Wei, one of the three princi-
palities into which the great state of 3 in na d been broken up, and
which he ruled as the marquis Kl for sixteen years, B.C. 386-371.
His son usurped the title of king, and was the ' king Hui of Liang/
whom Mencius had interviews with. Wfi, or { martial/ was ATs
honorary, posthumous epithet.

4 The character (^) which I thus translate, has two tones, the
second and fourth. Here and elsewhere in this paragraph and the
next, it is with one exception in the fourth tone, meaning ' to com-
fort or reward for toils endured.' The one exception is its next
occurrence, ' hard and laborious toils. 1

5 The appropriate and humble designation of himself by the
ruler of a state.

92 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXIV.

(deprived of their accustomed pleasures) ; it is for
me to comfort your lordship, what occasion have
you to comfort me?' The marquis looked con-
temptuous, and made no reply.

After a little time, Hsu Wti-kwei said, ' Let me tell
your lordship something : I look at dogs and judge
of them by their appearance l . One of the lowest
quality seizes his food, satiates himself, and stops ;
he has the attributes of a fox. One of a medium
quality seems to be looking at the sun. One of the
highest quality seems to have forgotten the one thing,
himself. But I judge still better of horses than I do
of dogs. When I do so, I find that one goes straight-
forward, as if following a line ; that another turns
off, so as to describe a hook ; that a third describes a
square as if following the measure so called ; and that
a fourth describes a circle as exactly as a compass
would make it. These are all horses of a state ; but
they are not equal to a horse of the kingdom. His
qualities are complete. Now he looks anxious ; now
to be losing the way ; now to be forgetting himself.
Such a horse prances along, or rushes on, spurning
the dust and not knowing where he is/ The marquis
was greatly pleased and laughed.

When Hsu Wft-kwei came out, Nil Shang said to
him, ' How was it, Sir, that you by your counsels
produced such an effect on our ruler ? In my coun-
sellings of him, now indirectly, taking my subjects
from the Books of Poetry, History, Rites, and Music ;
now directly, from the Metal Tablets 2 , and the six
Bow-cases 2 , all calculated for the service (of the

1 Literally, ' I physiognomise dogs.'

2 The names of two Books, or Collections of Tablets, the former

PT. in. SECT. II. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 93

state), and to be of great benefit ; in these coun-
sellings, repeated times without number, I have
never seen the ruler show his teeth in a smile : by
what counsels have you made him so pleased to-day?'
Hsu Wft-kwei replied, ' I only told him how I judged
of dogs and horses by looking at their appearance/
' So?' said Nu Shang, and the other rejoined, 'Have
you not heard of the wanderer l from Ytieh ? when
he had been gone from the state several days, he
was glad when he saw any one whom he had seen
in it ; when he had been gone a month, he was glad
when he saw any one whom he had known in it ;
and when he had been gone a round year, he was
glad when he saw any one who looked like a native
of it. The longer he was gone, the more longingly
did he think of the people ; was it not so ? The
men who withdraw to empty valleys, where the
hellebore bushes stop up the little paths made by
the weasels, as they push their way or stand amid
the waste, are glad when they seem to hear the
sounds of human footsteps ; and how much more
would they be so, if it were their brothers and
relatives talking and laughing by their side ! How
long it is since the words of a True 2 man were
heard as he talked and laughed by our ruler's side !'

2. At (another) interview of Hsii Wti-kwei with
the marquis Wfl, the latter said, ' You, Sir, have
been dwelling in the forests for a long time, living

containing Registers of the Population, the latter treating of mili-
tary subjects.

1 Kwo Hsiang makes this * a banished criminal/ This is not
necessary.

8 Wu-kwei then had a high opinion of his own attainments in
T&oism, and a low opinion of Nil Shang and the other courtiers.

94 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXIV,

on acorns and chestnuts, and satiating yourself with
onions and chives, without thinking of poor me.
Now (that you are here), is it because you are old ?
or because you wish to try again the taste of wine
and meat ? or because (you wish that) I may enjoy
the happiness derived from the spirits of the altars
of the Land and Grain? 1 Hsu Wft-kwei replied,
' I was born in a poor and mean condition, and have
never presumed to drink of your lordship's wine,
or eat of your meat. My object in coming was
to comfort your lordship under your troubles/
' What ? comfort me under my troubles ? ' ' Yes,
to comfort both your lordship's spirit and body/
The marquis said, 'What do you mean?' His
visitor replied, ' Heaven and Earth have one and
the same purpose in the production (of all men).
However high one man be exalted, he should not
think that he is favourably dealt with ; and however
low may be the position of another, he should not
think that he is unfavourably dealt with. You are
indeed the one and only lord of the 10,000 chariots
(of your state), but you use your dignity to embitter
(the lives of) all the people, and to pamper your
ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. But your spirit does
not acquiesce in this. The spirit (of man) loves to
be in harmony with others and hates selfish indul-
gence 3 . This selfish indulgence is a disease, and
therefore I would comfort you under it. How is it
that your lordship more than others brings this
disease on yourself ? ' The marquis said, ' I have
wished to see you, Sir, for a long time. I want to
love my people, and by the exercise of righteous-

1 Wti-kwei had a high idea of the constitution of human nature.

PT. III. SECT. II. THE WRITINGS OF tfWANG-3ZE. 95

ness to make an end of war ; will that be sufficient ?'
Hsu Wft-kwei replied, * By no means To love the
people is the first step to injure them 1 . By the
exercise of righteousness to make an end of war is
the root from which war is produced l . If your
lordship try to accomplish your object in this way,
you are not likely to succeed. All attempts to
accomplish what we think good (with an ulterior
end) is a bad contrivance. Although your lord-
ship practise benevolence and righteousness (as you
propose), it will be no better than hypocrisy. You
may indeed assume the (outward) form, but suc-
cessful accomplishment will lead to (inward) conten-
tion, and the change thence arising will produce
outward fighting. Your lordship also must not
mass files of soldiers in the passages of your gal-
leries and towers, nor have footmen and horsemen
in the apartments about your altars 2 * Do not let
thoughts contrary to your success lie hidden in your
mind ; do not think of conquering men by artifice,
or by (skilful) plans, or by fighting. If I kill the
officers and people of another state, and annex its
territory, to satisfy my selfish desires, while in my
spirit I do not know whether the fighting be good,
where is the victory that I gain ? Your lordship's
best plan is to abandon (your purpose). If you will
cultivate in your breast the sincere purpose (to love
the people), and so respond to the feeling of Heaven
and Earth, and not (further) vex yourself, then your
people will already have escaped death ; what

1 TSoistic teaching, but questionable.

2 We need more information about the customs of the feudal
princes fully to understand the language of this sentence.

96 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxiv.

occasion will your lordship have to make an end
of war ? '

3. Hwang-Tt was going to see Td-kwei l at the
hill of A'u-jhze. Fang Ming was acting as charioteer,
and A^ang Yii was occupying the third place in the
carriage. .A'ang Zo and Hs! Phang went before the
horses ; and Khwan Hwun and Kft KM followed the
carriage. When they arrived at the wild of Hsiang-
Mng, the seven sages were all perplexed, and could
find no place at which to ask the way. Just then
they met with a boy tending some horses, and asked
the way of him. ' Do you know/ they said, ' the
hill of A"u-jhze?' and he replied that he did. He
also said that he knew where T-kwei was living.
* A strange boy is this ! ' said Hwang-Tl. * He not
only knows the hill of A\i-jhze, but he also knows
where Tcl-kwei is living. Let me ask him about
the government of mankind/ The boy said, ' The
administration of the kingdom is like this (which I
am doing) ; what difficulty should there be in it ?
When I was young, I enjoyed myself roaming over
all within the six confines of the world of space, and
then I began to suffer from indistinct sight. A wise
elder taught me, saying, " Ride in the chariot of the

1 T (or Th&i)-kwei (or wei) appears here as the name of a
person. It cannot be the name of a hill, as it is said by some to
be. The whole paragraph is parabolic or allegorical ; and Ta-
kwei is probably a personification of the Great T do itself, though
no meaning of the character kwei can be adduced to justify this
interpretation. The horseherd boy is further supposed to be a per-
sonification of the ' Great Simplicity/ which is characteristic of the
Tdo, the spontaneity of it, unvexed by the wisdom of man. The
lesson of the paragraph is that taught in the eleventh Book, and
many other places.

PT. III. SECT. II. THE WRITINGS OF JSTWANG-3ZE. 97

sun, and roam in the wild of Hsiang-A'Mng." Now
the trouble in my eyes is a little better, and I am
again enjoying myself roaming outside the six con-
fines of the world of space. As to the government
of the kingdom, it is like this (which I am doing);
what difficulty should there be in it ?' Hwang-Tl
said, * The administration of the world is indeed not
your business, my son ; nevertheless, I beg to ask
you about it/ The little lad declined to answer,
but on Hwang-Ti putting the question again, he
said, * In what does the governor of the kingdom
differ from him who has the tending of horses, and
who has only to put away whatever in him would
injure the horses ? '

Hwang-Tl bowed to him twice with his head to
the ground, called him his ' Heavenly Master 1 ,' and
withdrew.

4. If officers of wisdom do not see the changes
which their anxious thinking has suggested, they
have no joy ; if debaters are not able to set forth
their views in orderly style, they have no joy; if
critical examiners find no subjects on which to exer-
cise their powers of vituperation, they have no joy :
they are all hampered by external restrictions.

Those who try to attract the attention of their age
(wish to) rise at court ; those who try to win the regard
of the people 2 count holding office a glory; those
who possess muscular strength boast of doing what
is difficult ; those who are bold and daring exert
themselves in times of calamity ; those who are able

1 This is the title borne to the piesent day by the chief or pope
of Taoism, the representative of ^ang Tao-ling of our first century.

8 Taking the initial ung in the third tone. If we take it in
the first tone, the meaning is different.
[40] H

98 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxiv.

swordmen and spearmen delight in fighting ; those
whose powers are decayed seek to rest in the name
(they have gained) ; those who are skilled in the
laws seek to enlarge the scope of government ;
those who are proficient in ceremonies and music
pay careful attention to their deportment ; and those
who profess benevolence and righteousness value
opportunities (for displaying them).

The husbandmen who do not keep their fields
well weeded are not equal to their business, nor are
traders who do not thrive in the markets. When
the common people have their appropriate employ-
ment morning and evening, they stimulate one
another to diligence ; the mechanics who are masters
of their implements feel strong for their work. If
their wealth does not increase, the greedy are dis-
tressed ; if their power and influence is not growing,
the ambitious are sad.

Such creatures of circumstance and things delight
in changes, and if they meet with a time when they
can show what they can do, they cannot keep them-
selves from taking advantage of it. They all pursue
their own way like (the seasons of) the year, and do
not change as things do. They give the reins to
their bodies and natures, and allow themselves to
sink beneath (the pressure of) things, and all their
lifetime do not come back (to their proper selves) :
is it not sad 1 ?

5. -ffwang-jze said, ' An archer, without taking
aim beforehand, yet may hit the mark. If we say
that he is a good archer, and that all the world may

1 All the parties in this paragraph disallow the great principle
of Taoism, which does everything by doing nothing.

PT. III. SECT. II. THE WRITINGS OF JfWANG-SZE. 99

be Is *, is this allowable ? ' Hui-jze replied, ' It is/
A^wang-jze continued, ' All men do not agree in
counting the same thing to be right, but every one
maintains his own view to be right ; (if we say) that
all men may be Yios, is this allowable ? ' Hui-jze
(again) replied, * It is;' and A^wang-jze went on,
* Very well ; there are the literati, the followers of
Mo (Ti), of Yang (Aft), and of Ping 2 ; making four
(different schools). Including yourself, Master, there
are five. Which of your views is really right ? Or
will you take the position of Lft K\\ 3 ? One of his
disciples said to him, " Master, I have got hold of
your method. I can in winter heat the furnace
under my tripod, and in summer can produce ice."
Lfl Ku said, " That is only with the Yang element
to call out the same, and with the Yia to call out
the yin ; that is not my method. I will show you
what my method is." On this he tuned two citherns,
placing one of them in the hall, and the other in one
of the inner apartments. Striking the note Kung 4
in the one, the same note vibrated in the other,
and so it was with the note A"io 4 ; the two instru-
ments being tuned in the same way. But if he had
differently tuned them on other strings different

1 The famous archer of the Hsia* dynasty, in the twenty-second
century B. c.

2 The name of Kung-sun Lung, the Lung Li-^Aan of Bk. XXI,
par. i.

8 Only mentioned here. The statement of his disciple and his
remaik on it are equally obscure, though the latter is partially illus-
trated from the twenty-third, twenty-fourth, and other hexagrams
oftheYih^mg.

4 The sounds of the first and third notes of the Chinese musical
scale, corresponding to our A and E. I know too little of music
myself to pronounce further on Lu JTtt's illustration.

H 2

IOO THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxiv.

from the normal arrangement of the five notes, the
five-and-twenty strings would all have vibrated,
without any difference of their notes, the note to
which he had tuned them ruling and guiding all the
others. Is your maintaining your view to be right
just like this ? '

Hui-jze replied, ' Here now are the literati, and
the followers of Mo, Yang, and Ping. Suppose that
they have come to dispute with me. They put
forth their conflicting statements ; they try voci-
ferously to put me down ; but none of them have
ever proved me wrong : what do you say to
this ? ' A"wang-$ze said, ' There was a man of Kki
who cast away his son in Sung to be a gate-
keeper there, and thinking nothing of the mutilation
he would incur ; the same man, to secure one of his
sacrificial vessels or bells, would have it strapped and
secured, while to find his son who was lost, he would
not go out of the territory of his own state : so
forgetful was he of the relative importance of things.
If a man of Khh, going to another state as a lame
gate-keeper, at midnight, at a time when no one was
nigh, were to fight with his boatman, he would not
be able to reach the shore, and he would have done
what he could to provoke the boatman's animosity 1 .'

6. As A'wang-jze was accompanying a funeral,
when passing by the grave of Hui-jze 2 , he looked

1 The illustrations m this last member of the paragraph are also
obscure. Lin Hsi-ung says that all the old explanations of them
are defective ; his own explanation has failed to make itself clear
to me.

2 The expression in the last sentence of the paragraph, the
Master/ makes it certain that this was the grave of A"wang-jze's
fnend with whom he had had so many conversations and arguments.

PT. III. SECT. II. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-SZE. IOI

round, and said to his attendants, 'On the top of the
nose of that man of Ying 1 there is a (little) bit of mud
like a fly s wing/ He sent for the artisan Shih to
cut it away. Shih whirled his axe so as to produce
a wind, which immediately carried off the mud en-
tirely, leaving the nose uninjured, and the (statue
of) the man of Ying 1 standing undisturbed. The
ruler Yuan of Sung 2 heard of the feat, called the
artisan Shih, and said to him, ' Try and do the same
thing on me/ The artisan said, c Your servant has
been able to trim things in that way, but the material
on which I have worked has been dead for a long
time/ A'wang-jze said, ' Since the death of the
Master, I have had no material to work upon. I
have had no one with whom to talk/

7. Kwan A^ung being ill, duke Hwan went to ask
for him, and said, 'Your illness, father Acting, is
very severe ; should you not speak out your mind
to me ? Should this prove the great illness, to whom
will it be best for me to entrust my State ?' Kwan
ATimg said, * To whom does your grace wish to en-
trust it ?' 'To Pdo Shft-yaV was the reply. ' He
will not do. He is an admirable officer, pure and
incorruptible, but with others who are not like him-
self he will not associate. And when he once bear's

1 Ying was the capital of Khh. I have seen in China about the
graves of wealthy and distinguished men many life-sized statues of
men somehow connected with them.

2 Yuan is called the ' ruler * of Sung. That duchy was by this
time a mere dependency of KJA. The sacrifices of its old ruling
House were finally extinguished by Kh\ in B. c. 206.

3 Pdo Shft-y had been the life-long friend of the dying premier,
and to him in the first place had been owing the elevation of Hwan
to the maiquisate.

IO2 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxiv.

of another man's faults, he never forgets them. If
you employ him to administer the state, above, he
will take the leading of your Grace, and, below, he
will come into collision with the people ; in no long
time you will be holding him as an offender/ The
duke said, ' Who, then, is the man ? ' The reply
was, ' If I must speak, there is Hsl Phang 1 ; he will
do. He is a man who forgets his own high position,
and against whom those below him will not revolt.
He is ashamed that he is not equal to Hwang-Tl,
and pities those who are not equal to himself. Him
who imparts of his virtue to others we call a sage ;
him who imparts of his wealth to others we call a
man of worth. He who by his worth would preside
over others, never succeeds in winning them; he
who with his worth condescends to others, never
but succeeds in winning them. Hsi Phang has not
been (much) heard of in the state ; he has not been
(much) distinguished in his own clan. But as I must
speak, he is the man for you/

8. The king of Wfi, floating about on the Alang,
(landed and) ascended the Hill of monkeys, which all,
when they saw him, scampered off in terror, and hid
themselves among the thick hazels. There was one,
however, which, in an unconcerned way, swung about
on the branches, displaying its cleverness to the king,
who thereon discharged an arrow at it. With a
nimble motion it caught the swift arrow, and the
king ordered his attendants to hurry forward and
shoot it ; and thus the monkey was seized and killed.
The king then, looking round, said to his friend Yen

1 For a long time a great officer of Kh\, but he died in the same
year as Kwan ATung himself.

PT. III. SECT. II. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-SZE. 1O3

Pti-1 1 , 'This monkey made a display of its artful-
ness, and trusted in its agility, to show me its arro-
gance; this it was which brought it to this fate.
Take warning from it. Ah ! do not by your looks
give yourself haughty airs !' Yen Pti-t 1 , when he
returned home, put himself under the teaching of
Tung Wft 1 , to root up 2 his pride. He put away
what he delighted in and abjured distinction. In
three years the people of the kingdom spoke of him
with admiration.

9. Nan-po 3ze-/z! 3 was seated, leaning forward on
his stool, and sighing gently as he looked up to
heaven. (Just then) Yen A^ang-jze 3 came in, and
said, when he saw him, ' Master, you surpass all
others. Is it right to make your body thus like
a mass of withered bones, and your mind like so
much slaked lime ? ' The other said, ' I formerly
lived in a grotto on a hill. At that time Thien Ho 4
once came to see me, and all the multitudes of Khi
congratulated him thrice (on his having found the
proper man). I must first have shown myself, and
so it was that he knew me ; I must first have been
selling (what I had), and so it was that he came to
buy. If I had not shown what I possessed, how should
he have known it; if I had not been selling (myself),
how should he have come to buy me ? I pity

1 We know these names only from their occurrence here. Tung
Wu must have been a professor of Taoism.

2 The text here is ^[f, ' to help ;' but it is explained as = $j|,
' a hoe/ The Khang-hsi dictionary does not give this meaning of
the character, but we find it in that of Yen Yuan,

8 See the first paragraph of Bk. II.

* 5J 7JC must be the 5J 5ft] of Sze-mS -Oien, who became
marquis of Kh\ in B. c. 389.

IO4 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXiv.

the men who lose themselves l ; I also pity the men
who pity others (for not being known) ; and I also
pity the men who pity the men who pity those that
pity others. But since then the time is long gone
by ; (and so I am in the state in which you have
found me) 2 .

10. A^mg-ni, having gone to Khh, the king ordered
wine to be presented to him. Sun Shft-ao 3 stood,
holding the goblet in his hand. 1-liao of Shih-nan 3 ,
having received (a cup), poured its contents out as a
sacrificial libation, and said, 'The men of old, on such
an occasion as this, made some speech/ A'ung-nt
said, ' I have heard of speech without words ; but I
have never spoken it; I will do so now. 1-liao of
Shih-nan kept (quietly) handling his little spheres,

1 In seeking for worldly honours.

2 That is, I have abjured all desire for woildly honour, and de-
sire attainment in the Tao alone.

3 See Mencms VI, li, 15. Sun Shfi-ao was chief minister to king
-Owang who died in B.C. 591, and died, piobably, befoie Confucius
was born, and 1-liao (p. 28, n-3) appears in public life only after
the death of the sage. The three men could not have appeared
together at any time. This account of their doing so was devised
by our author as a peg on which to hang his own lessons in the
rest of the paragraph. The two historical events referred to I have
found it difficult to discover. They are instances of doing nothing,
and yet thereby accomplishing what is very great. The action of
t-lio in ' quietly handling his balls ' recalls my seeing the same
thing done by a gentleman at ^u-fau, the city of Confucius,
in 1873. Being left there with a companion, and not knowing
how to get to the Grand Canal, many gentlemen came to advise
with us how we should proceed. Among them was one who, while
tendering his advice, kept rolling about two brass balls in one
palm with the fingers of the other hand. When I asked the
meaning of his action, I was told, * To show how he is at his ease
and master of the situation.' I mention the circumstance because
I have nowhere found the phrase m the text adequately explained.

PT. III. SECT. ii. THE WRITINGS OF JSTWANG-3ZE. 1 05

and the difficulties between the two Houses were
resolved ; Sun Shu-do slept undisturbed on his
couch, with his (dancer's) feather in his hand, and
the men of Ying enrolled themselves for the war.
I wish I Jiad a beak three cubits long V

In the case of those two (ministers) we have what
is called ' The Way that cannot be trodden 2 ;' in (the
case of A'ung-ni) we have what is called ' the Argu-
ment without words 2 .' Therefore when all attri-
butes are comprehended in the unity of the Tio,
and speech stops at the point to which knowledge
does not reach, the conduct is complete. But where
there is (not) 3 the unity of the Tao, the attributes
cannot (always) be the same, and that which is be-
yond the reach of knowledge cannot be exhibited by
any reasoning. There may be as many names as
those employed by the Literati and the Mohists, but
(the result is) evil. Thus when the sea does not
reject the streams that flow into it in their eastward
course, we have the perfection of greatness. The
sage embraces in his regard both Heaven and Earth ;
his beneficent influence extends to all under the sky ;
and we do not know from whom it comes. There-
fore though when living one may have no rank, and
when dead no honorary epithet ; though the reality
(of what he is) may not be acknowledged and his
name not established ; we have in him what is called
' The Great Man/

A dog is not reckoned good because it barks well ;
and a man is not reckoned wise because he speaks

1 This strange wish concludes the speech of Confucius. What
follows is from ATwang-jze.

8 Compare the opening chapters of the Tdo Teh A'mg.
3 The Tao is greater than any and all of its attributes.

IO6 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxiv.

skilfully ; how much less can he be deemed Great !
If one thinks he is Great, he is not fit to be ac-
counted Great ; how much less is he so from the
practice of the attributes (of the Tdo) 1 ! Now none
are so grandly complete as Heaven and Earth ; but
do they seek for anything to make them so grandly
complete ? He who knows this grand completion
does not seek for it ; he loses nothing and abandons
nothing ; he does not change himself from regard to
(external) things ; he turns in on himself, and finds
there an inexhaustible store ; he follows antiquity
and does not feel about (for its lessons) ; such is the
perfect sincerity of the Great Man.

ii. 3 ze ~^ 2 had eight sons. Having arranged
them before him, he called Ajto-fang Van 3 , and said
to him, ' Look at the physiognomy of my sons for
me ; which will be the fortunate one ? ' Yan said,
1 Khwan is the fortunate one/ %zt-khi looked
startled, and joyfully said, * In what way?' Y&n
replied, * Khwan will share the meals of the ruler
of a state to the end of his life.' The father looked
uneasy, burst into tears, and said, ' What has my
son done that he should come to such a fate ? ' Yan
replied, * When one shares the meals of the ruler
of a state, blessings reach to all within the three
branches of his kindred 4 , and how much more to
his father and mother ! But you, Master, weep
when you hear this ; you oppose (the idea of) such
happiness. It is the good fortune of your son, and

1 See note 3 on previous page.

8 This can hardly be any other but Nan-kwo %zz-khi
8 A famous physiognomist ; some say, of horses. Hwdi-nan 3ze
calls him -ffift-fang Kdo (JpO.
4 See Mayers/s Manual, p. 303,

PT.ili.SECT.il, THE WRITINGS OF WANG-3ZE. IO/

you count it his misfortune. 1 3 ze ~^ sa ^, ' O Yin,
what sufficient ground have you for knowing that
this will be Khwan's good fortune ? (The fortune)
that is summed up in wine and flesh affects only the
nose and the mouth, but you are not able to know
how it will come about. I have never been a shep-
herd, and yet a ewe lambed in the south-west corner
of my house. I have never been fond of hunting,
and yet a quail hatched her young in the south-east
corner. If these were not prodigies, what can be
accounted such ? Where I wish to occupy my mind
with my son is in (the wide sphere of) heaven and
earth; I wish to seek his enjoyment and mine in
(the idea of) Heaven, and our support from the
Earth. I do not mix myself up with him in the
affairs (of the world) ; nor in forming plans (for his
advantage) ; nor in the practice of what is strange.
I pursue with him the perfect virtue of Heaven and
Earth, and do not allow ourselves to be troubled
by outward things. I seek to be with him in a
state of undisturbed indifference, and not to practise
what affairs might indicate as likely to be advan-
tageous. And now there is to come to us this
vulgar recompense. Whenever there is a strange
realisation, there must have been strange conduct.
Danger threatens ; not through any sin of me or
of my son, but as brought about, I apprehend, by
Heaven. It is this which makes me weep ! '

Not long after this, 3ze-M sent off Khwan to go
to Yen 1 , when he was made prisoner by some robbers
on the way. It would have been difficult to sell
him if he were whole and entire, and they thought

1 The state so called.

IO8 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM, BK. xxiv.

their easiest plan was to cut off (one of his) feet
first. They did so, and sold him in KM, where he
became Inspector of roads for a Mr. Kh\i l . Never-
theless he had flesh to eat till he died.

12. Nieh KMeh met Hsu Yft (on the way), and
said to him, ' Where, Sir, are you going to ? ' * I am
fleeing from Yo,' was the reply. 'What do you
mean ? ' ' Yo has become so bent on his benevo-
lence that I am afraid the world will laugh at him,
and that in future ages men will be found eating
one another 2 . Now the people are collected together
without difficulty. Love them, and they respond
with affection ; benefit them, and they come to you ;
praise them, and they are stimulated (to please you) ;
make them to experience what they dislike, and
they disperse. When the loving and benefiting
proceed from benevolence and righteousness, those
who forget the benevolence and righteousness, and
those who make a profit of them, are the many. In
this way the practice of benevolence and righteous-
ness comes to be without sincerity and is like a
borrowing of the instruments with which men catch
birds 3 . In all this the one man's seeking to benefit
the world by his decisions and enactments (of such
a nature) is as if he were to cut through (the nature
of all) by one operation ; Yo knows how wise and
superior men can benefit the world, but he does not

1 One expert supposes the text here to mean c duke Khv,' but
there was no such duke of Khl . The best explanation seems to be
that Khu was a rich gentleman, inspector of the roads of A^t, or of
the streets of its capital, who bought Khwan to take his duties
for him.

8 Compare in Bk. XXIII, par. 2.

8 A scheming for one's own advantage.

PT.lll.SECT.il. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-SZE. IOQ

also know how they injure it. It is only those who
stand outside such men that know this V

There are the pliable and weak ; the easy and
hasty ; the grasping and crooked. Those who are
called the pliable and weak learn the words of some
one master, to which they freely yield their assent,
being secretly pleased with themselves, and think-
ing that their knowledge is sufficient, while they do
not know that they have not yet begun (to under-
stand) a single thing. It is this which makes them
so pliable and weak. The easy and hasty are like
lice on a pig. The lice select a place where the
bristles are more wide apart, and look on it as a
great palace or a large park. The slits between the
toes, the overlappings of its skin, about its nipples
and its thighs, all these seem to them safe apart-
ments and advantageous places ; they do not know
that the butcher one morning, swinging about his
arms, will spread the grass, and kindle the fire, so
that they and the pig will be roasted together. So
do they appear and disappear with the place where
they harboured : this is why they are called the
easy and hasty.

Of the grasping and crooked we have an example
in Shun. Mutton has no craving for ants, but ants
have a craving for mutton, for it is rank. There
was a rankness about the conduct of Shun, and the
people were pleased with him. Hence when he
thrice changed his residence, every one of them
became a capital city 2 . When he came to the wild

1 I suppose that the words of Hsu Yu stop with this sen-
tence, and that from this to the end of the paiagraph we have
the sentiments of A"wang-jze himself. The style is his, graphic
but sometimes coarse.

2 See note on Mencius V, i, 2, 3.

1 10 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxiv.

of T&ng 1 , he had 100,000 families about him. Y&o
having heard of the virtue and ability of Shun,
appointed him to a new and uncultivated territory,
saying, ' I look forward to the benefit of his coming
here/ When Shun was appointed to this new terri-
tory, his years were advanced, and his intelligence
was decayed; and yet he could not find a place
of rest or a home. This is an example of being
grasping and wayward.

Therefore (in opposition to such) the spirit-like
man dislikes the flocking of the multitudes to him.
When the multitudes come, they do not agree ; and
when they do not agree, no benefit results from
their coming. Hence there are none whom he
brings very near to himself, and none whom he
keeps at a great distance. He keeps his virtue in
close embrace, and warmly nourishes (the spirit of)
harmony, so as to be in accordance with all men.
This is called the True man 2 . Even the knowledge
of the ant he puts away ; his plans are simply those
of the fishes 3 ; even the notions of the sheep he
discards. His seeing is simply that of the eye ; his
hearing that of the ear ; his mind is governed by
its general exercises. Being such, his course is
straight and level as if marked out by a line, and
its every change is in accordance (with the circum-
stances of the case).

13. The True men of old waited for the issues
of events as the arrangements of Heaven, and did
not by their human efforts try to take the place of
Heaven. The True men of old (now) looked on

1 Situation unknown.

2 The spirit-like man and the true man are the same.
8 Fishes forget everything in the water.

PT. III. SECT. II. THE WRITINGS OF *WANG-3ZE. 1 1 1

success as life and on failure as death ; and (now)
on success as death and on failure as life. The
operation of medicines will illustrate this: there are
monk's-bane, the ^ieh-kSng, the tribulus fruit, and
china-root ; each of these has the time and case for
which it is supremely suitable ; and all such plants and
their suitabilities cannot be mentioned particularly.
KHu-^ien 1 took his station on (the hill of) Kwdi-^t
with 3,000 men with their buff-coats and shields: (his
minister) jfCung knew how the ruined (Yueh) might
still be preserved, but the same man did not know
the sad fate in store for himself 1 . Hence it is said,
' The eye of the owl has its proper fitness ; the leg
of the crane has its proper limit, and to cut off any
of it would distress (the bird).' Hence (also) it is
(further) said, * When the wind passes over it, the
volume of the river is diminished, and so it is when
the sun passes over it. But let the wind and sun
keep a watch together on the river, and it will not
begin to feel that they are doing it any injury: it
relies on its springs and flows on/ Thus, water does
its part to the ground with undeviating exactness ;
and so does the shadow to the substance ; and one
thing to another. Therefore there is danger from
the power of vision in the eyes, of hearing in the
ears, and of the inordinate thinking of the mind ;
yea, there is danger from the exercise of every
power of which man's constitution is the depository.

1 See the account of the struggle between Kau-^ien of Ytieh and
Fft-Mi of Wu in the eightieth and some following chapters of the
1 History of the various States of the Eastern jOu (Li eh Kwo
-ATih).' We have sympathy with Kau-^ien, till his ingratitude to
his two great ministers, one of whom was Win Aung (the Aung
of the text), shows the baseness of his character.

112 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxiv.

When the danger has come to a head, it cannot be
averted, and the calamity is perpetuated, and goes
on increasing. The return from this (to a state of
security) is the result of (great) effort, and success
can be attained only after a long time ; and yet
men consider (their power of self-determination) as
their precious possession : is it not sad ? It is in
this way that we have the ruin of states and the
slaughtering of the people without end ; while no
one knows how to ask how it comes about.

14. Therefore, the feet of man on the earth
tread but on a small space, but going on to where
he has not trod before, he traverses a great distance
easily; so his knowledge is but small, but going on
to what he does not already know, he comes to
know what is meant by Heaven 1 . He knows it as
The Great Unity; The Great Mystery; The Great
Illuminator ; The Great Framer ; The Great Bound-
lessness ; The Great Truth ; The Great Determiner.
This makes his knowledge complete. As The Great
Unity, he comprehends it; as The Great Mystery,
he unfolds it; as the Great Illuminator, he contem-
plates it; as the Great Framer, it is to him the
Cause of all ; as the Great Boundlessness, all is
to him its embodiment; as The Great Truth, he
examines it; as The Great Determiner, he holds
it fast.

Thus Heaven is to him all ; accordance with it
is the brightest intelligence. Obscurity has in this
its pivot ; in this is the beginning. Such being the

1 This paragraph grandly sets forth the culmination of all in-
quiries into the Tdo as leading to the knowledge of Heaven;
and the means by which it may be attained to.

PT. III. SECT. II. THE WRITINGS OF tf WANG-8ZE. 113

case, the explanation of it is as if it were no ex-
planation; the knowledge of it is as if it were no
knowledge. (At first) he does not know it, but
afterwards he comes to know it. In his inquiries,
he must not set to himself any limits, and yet he
cannot be without a limit. Now ascending, now
descending, then slipping from the grasp, (the T&o)
is yet a reality, unchanged now as in antiquity, and
always without defect : may it not be called what
is capable of the greatest display and expansion ?
Why should we not inquire into it ? Why should
we be perplexed about it? With what does not
perplex let us explain what perplexes, till we cease
to be perplexed. So may we arrive at a great
freedom from all perplexity !

[40]

114 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxv.

BOOK XXV.

PART III. SECTION III.

Seh-yang 1 .

i. 3eh-yang having travelled to Kh&, 1 A"ieh 2
spoke of him to the king, and then, before the king
had granted him an interview, (left him, and) re-
turned home. 3 e h-y an g went to see Wang Kwo 3 ,
and said to him, ' Master, why do you not mention
me to the king ? ' Wang Kwo replied, ' I am not
so good a person to do that as Kung-yueh HsiftV
* What sort of man is he ? ' asked the other, and the
reply was, ' In winter he spears turtles in the A"iang, .
and in summer he rests in shady places on the
mountain. When passers-by ask him (what he is
doing there), he says, " This is my abode." Since
1 Aleh was not able to induce the king to see you,
how much less should I, who am not equal to him,
be able to do so ! 1 A^ieh's character is this : he
has no (real) virtue, but he has knowledge. If you
do not freely yield yourself to him, but employ him
to carry on his spirit-like influence (with you), you
will certainly get upset and benighted in the region
of riches and honours. His help will not be of a
virtuous character, but will go to make your virtue

1 See vol. xxxix, pp 154, 155.

2 A native of jOfi, and, probably, a parasite of the court.
8 An officer of A^u, ' a worthy man/

4 A recluse of Khb, but not keeping quite aloof from the court.

PT. III. SECT. III. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 115

less; it will be like heaping on clothes in spring
as a protection against cold, or bringing back the
cold winds of winter as a protection against heat
(in summer). Now the king of Khh. is of a
domineering presence and stern. He has no for-
giveness for offenders, but is merciless as a tiger.
It is only a man of subtle speech, or one of correct
virtue, who can bend him from his purpose l .

( But the sagely man 2 , when he is left in obscurity,
causes the members of his family to forget their
poverty; and, when he gets forward to a position
of influence, causes kings and dukes to forget their
rank and emoluments, and transforms them to be
humble. With the inferior creatures, he shares
their pleasures, and they enjoy themselves the more ,
with other men, he rejoices in the fellowship of the
Tdo, and preserves it in himself. Therefore though
he may not speak, he gives them to drink of the
harmony (of his spirit). Standing in association
with them, he transforms them till they become in
their feeling towards him as sons with a father.
His wish is to return to the solitude of his own
mind, and this is the effect of his occasional inter-
course with them. So far-reaching is his influence
on the minds of men ; and therefore I said to you,
"Wait for Kung-yiieh Hsifi.'"

2. The sage comprehends the connexions be-
tween himself and others, and how they all go to
constitute him of one body with them, and he does
not know how it is so ; he naturally does so. In
fulfilling his constitution, as acted on and acting, he

1 Much of the description of 1 Al'ieh is difficult to construe.

2 Kung-yueh Hsift.

I 2

Il6 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxv.

(simply) follows the direction of Heaven ; and it is
in consequence of this that men style him (a sage).
If he were troubled about (the insufficiency of) his
knowledge, what he did would always be but small,
and sometimes would be arrested altogether ; how
would he in this case be (the sage) ? When (the
sage) is born with all his excellence, it is other men
who see it for him. If they did not tell him, he
would not know that he was more excellent than
others. And when he knows it, he is as if he did
not know it; when he hears it, he is as if he did
not hear it. His source of joy in it has no end, and
men's admiration of him has no end ; all this takes
place naturally 1 . The love of the sage for others
receives its name from them. If they did not tell
him of it, he would not know that he loved- them ;
and when he knows it, he is as if he knew it not ;
when he hears it, he is as if he heard it not. His
love of others never has an end, and their rest in
him has also no end : all this takes place naturally ] .
3. When one sees at a distance his old country
and old city, he feels a joyous satisfaction 2 .
Though it be full of mounds and an overgrowth
of trees and grass, and when he enters it he finds
but a tenth part remaining, still he feels that satis-
faction. How much more when he sees what he
saw, and hears what he heard before ! All this is to
him like a tower eighty cubits high exhibited in the
sight of all men.

1 That is, ' he does so m the spontaneity of his nature/ The
Iffi rec l u i res the employment of the term 'nature* here, not
according to any abstract usage of the term, but meaning the
natural constitution. Compare the ^ ^ in Mencms VII, i, 30.

2 So does he rejoice in attaining to the knowledge of his nature.

PT. III. SECT. III. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-SZE, II 7

(The sovereign) ZSn-hsiang 1 was possessed of
that central principle round which all things re-
volve 2 , and by it he could follow them to their
completion. His accompanying them had neither
ending nor beginning, and was independent of
impulse or time. Daily he witnessed their changes,
and himself underwent no change ; and why should
he not have rested in this ? If we (try to) adopt
Heaven as our Master, we incapacitate ourselves
from doing so. Such endeavour brings us under
the power of things. If one acts in this way, what
is to be said of him ? The sage never thinks of
Heaven nor of men. He does not think of taking
the initiative, nor of anything external to himself.
He moves along with his age, and does not vary
or fail. Amid all the completeness of his doings,
he is never exhausted. For those who wish to be
in accord with him, what other course is there to
pursue ?

When Thang got one to hold for him the reins
of government, namely, Man-yin Tang-hang 3 , -he
employed him as his teacher. He followed his
master, but did not allow himself to be hampered
by him, and so he succeeded in following things to
their completion. The master had the name ; but
that name was a superfluous addition to his laws,
and the twofold character of his government was
made apparent 4 . Aung-nl's ' Task your thoughts to
the utmost* was his expression of the duties of a

1 A sage sovereign prior to the three Hwang or August ones.

a See the same phraseology in Book II, par. 3.

8 I have followed Lin Hsi-ung in taking these four characters
as the name of one man.

4 There was a human element in it instead of the Heavenly only;
but some critics think the text here is erroneous or defective.

Il8 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxv.

master. Yung-khang said, 'Take the days away
and there will be no year ; without what is internal
there will be nothing external V

4. (King) Yung 2 of Wei made a treaty with the
marquis Thien M&u 3 (of Kh), which the latter
violated. The king was enraged, and intended to
send a man to assassinate him. When the Minister
of War 4 heard of it, he was ashamed, and said (to
the king), 'You are a ruler of 10,000 chariots, and
by means of a common man would avenge yourself
on your enemy. I beg you to give me, Yen, the
command of 200,000 soldiers to attack him for you.
I will take captive his people and officers, halter
(and lead off) his oxen and horses, kindling a fire
within him that shall burn to his backbone. I will
then storm his capital ; and when he shall run
away in terror, I will flog his back and break his
spine/ Al-jze 6 heard of this advice, and was
ashamed of it, and said (to the king), 'We have
been raising the wall (of our capital) to a height of
eighty cubits, and the work has been completed.
If we now get it thrown down, it will be a painful
toil to the convict builders. It is now seven years

1 Said to have been employed by Hwang-Ti to make the
calendar.

2 BC STQ-S 1 ?-

s I do not find the name Mau as belonging to any of the Thien
rulers of Kh\. The name of the successor of Thien Ho, who has
been before us, was ^p, Wu, for which ^, M&u, may be a
mistake, or 'the marquis Mau' may be a creation of our author.

4 Literally, ' the Rhinoceros' Head/ the title of * the Minister of
War ' in Wei, who was at this time a Kung-sun Yen. See the
memoir of him in Sze-ma -Oien, Book IX of his Biographies.

5 I do not know that anything moie can be said of Kl and Hwa
than that they weie officers of Wei.

PT. ill. SECT. III. THE WRITINGS OF 1TWANG-3ZE. IIQ

since our troops were called out, and this is the
foundation of the royal sway. Yen would introduce
disorder ; he should not be listened to. 1 Hwi-jze l
heard of this advice, and, greatly disapproving of it,
said (to the king), ' He who shows his skill in say-
ing "Attack Kkl" would produce disorder; and
he who shows his skill in saying " Do not attack
it" would also produce disorder. And one who
should (merely) say, " The counsellors to attack
K/A and not to attack it would both produce dis-
order/' would himself also lead to the same result/
The king said, ' Yes, but what am I to do ? ' The
reply was, ' You have only to seek for (the rule of)
the Tao (on the subject)/

Hui-jze, having heard of this counsel, introduced
to the king T&i 3in-an 2 , who said, ' There is the
creature called a snail ; does your majesty know it ?'
' 1 do/ ' On the left horn of the snail there is a
kingdom which is called Provocation, and on the
right horn another which is called Stupidity. These
two kingdoms are continually striving about their
territories and fighting. The corpses that lie on
the ground amount to several myriads. The army
of one may be defeated and put to flight, but in
fifteen days it will return/ The king said, * Pooh !
that is empty talk ! ' The other rejoined, ' Your
servant begs to show your majesty its real signifi-
cance. When your majesty thinks of space east,
west, north, and south, above and beneath can
you set any limit to it ? ' * It is illimitable/ said the
king ; and his visitor went on, ' Your majesty knows

1 See note 5 on preceding page.

2 Evidently a man of considerable reach of thought.

I2O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK.XXV.

how to let your mind thus travel through the illimit-
able, and yet (as compared with this) does it not seem
insignificant whether the kingdoms that communi-
cate one with another exist or not?' The king
replies, ' It does so ; ' and Tdi 3in-^an said, finally,
* Among those kingdoms, stretching one after an-
other, there is this Wei ; in Wei there is this (city
of) Liang 1 ; and in Liang there is your majesty.
Can you make any distinction between yourself,
and (the king of that kingdom of) Stupidity?' To
this the king answered, * There is no distinction,'
and his visitor went out, while the king remained
disconcerted and seemed to have lost himself.

When the visitor was gone, Hui-jze came in and
saw the king, who said, ' That stranger is a Great
man. An (ordinary) sage is not equal to him/
Hui-jze replied, ' If you blow into a flute, there
come out its pleasant notes ; if you blow into a
sword-hilt, there is nothing but a wheezing sound.
Y&o and Shun are the subjects of men's praises,
but if you speak of them before Tdi j$m-zan, there
will be but the wheezing sound.'

5. Confucius, having gone to Khh, was lodging in
the house of a seller of Congee at Ant-hill. On
the roof of a neighbouring house there appeared the
husband and his wife, with their servants, male and
female 2 . 3 z e-l& said, ' What are those people doing,

1 Liang, the capital, came to be used also as the name of the
state ; as in Mencius.

a ' They were on the roof, repairing it/ say some ' They had
got on the roof, to get out of the way of Confucius/ say others.
The sequel shows that this second interpretation is correct ; but we
do not see how the taking to the roof facilitated their departure
from the house.

PT. III. SECT. III. THE WRITINGS OF WANG-3ZE. 121

collected there as we see them ? ' ATimg-nJ replied,
' The man is a disciple of the sages. He is burying
himself among the people, and hiding among the
fields. Reputation has become little in his eyes, but
there is no bound to his cherished aims. Though
he may speak with his mouth, he never tells what is
in his mind. Moreover, he is at variance with the
age, and his mind disdains to associate with it ; he
is one who may be said to lie hid at the bottom of
the water on the dry land. Is he not a sort of
1 Li&o of Shih-nan ? ' 3ze-\& asked leave to go and
call him, but Confucius said, ' Stop. He knows that
I understand him well. He knows that I am come
to Kh&, and thinks that I am sure to try and get the
king to invite him (to court). He also thinks that I
am a man swift to speak. Being such a man, he
would fee] ashamed to listen to the words of one of
voluble and flattering tongue, and how much more to
come himself and see his person! And why should
we think that he will remain here ? ' 3ze-10, however,
went to see how it was, but found the house empty.

6. The Border-warden of A^ang-wfi 1 , in question-
ing 3ze-l&o 2 , said, ' Let not a ruler in the exercise of
his government be (like the farmer) who leaves the
clods unbroken, nor, in regulating his people, (like
one) who recklessly plucks up the shoots. Formerly,
in ploughing my corn-fields, I left the clods un-
broken, and my recompense was in the rough
unsatisfactory crops; and in weeding, I destroyed
and tore up (many good plants), and my recompense
was in the scantiness of my harvests. In subse-

1 Probably the same as the -ff^ang-wfl Qze in Book II, par. 9.
9 See Analects IX, vi, 4.

122 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXV.

quent years I changed my methods, ploughing
deeply and carefully covering up the seed ; and
my harvests were rich and abundant, so that all
the year I had more than I could eat/ When
A"wang-jze heard of his remarks, he said, ' Now-a-
days, most men, in attending to their bodies and
regulating their minds, correspond to the descrip-
tion of the Border-warden. They hide from them-
selves their Heaven(-given being) ; they leave (all
care of) their (proper) nature ; they extinguish their
(proper) feelings ; and they leave their spirit to die :
abandoning themselves to what is the general prac-
tice. Thus dealing with their nature like the farmer
who is negligent of the clods in his soil, the illegiti-
mate results of their likings and dislikings become
their nature. The bushy sedges, reeds, and rushes,
which seem at first to spring up to support our
bodies, gradually eradicate our nature, and it be- -
comes like a mass of running sores, ever liable to
flow out, with scabs and ulcers, discharging in flow-
ing matter from the internal heat. So indeed
it is ! '

7. Po A^u 1 was studying with Lio Tan, and asked
his leave to go and travel everywhere. Lao Tan
said, ' Nay; elsewhere it is just as here/ He re-
peated his request, and then Lao Tan said, ' Where
would you go first ? ' ' I would begin with KM'
replied the disciple. * Having got there, I would
go to look at the criminals (who had been exe-
cuted). With my arms I would raise (one of) them
up and set him on his feet, and, taking off my court
robes, I would cover him with them, appealing at

1 We can only say of Po Ku that he was a disciple of LSo-jze.

PT. in. SECT. III. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-SZE. 123

the same time to Heaven and bewailing his lot,
while I said \ " My son, my son, you have been one
of the first to suffer from the great calamities that
afflict the world 2 ."' (Uo Tan) said 1 , * (It is said),
" Do not rob. Do not kill." (But) in the setting
up of (the ideas of) glory and disgrace, we see the
cause of those evils ; in the accumulation of pro-
perty and wealth, we see the causes of strife and
contention. If now you set up the things against
which men fret ; if you accumulate what produces
strife and contention among them ; if you put their
persons in such a state of distress, that they have
no rest or ease, although you may wish that they
should not come to the end of those (criminals), can
} our wish be realised ?

4 The superior men (and rulers) of old considered
that the success (of their government) was to be
found in (the state of) the people, and its failure to
be sought in themselves; that the right might be
with the people, and the wrong in themselves. Thus
it was that if but a single person lost his life, they
retired and blamed themselves. Now, however, it
is not so. (Rulers) conceal what they want done,
and hold those who do not know it to be stupid ;
they require what is very difficult, and condemn
those who do not dare to undertake it ; they impose
heavy burdens, and punish those who are unequal
to them ; they require men to go far, and put them
to death when they cannot accomplish the distance.
When the people know that the utmost of their

1 There are two Q here, and the difficulty in translating is to
determine the subject of each.

2 The SI of the text here is taken as = M,

124 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxv.

strength will be insufficient, they follow it up with
deceit. When (the rulers) daily exhibit much hypo-
crisy, how can the officers and people not be hypocri-
tical ? Insufficiency of strength produces hypocrisy;
insufficiency of knowledge produces deception ; in-
sufficiency of means produces robbery. But in this
case against whom ought the robbery and theft to
be charged ? '

8. When AAI Po-yii was in his sixtieth year, his
views became changed in the course of it 1 . He
had never before done anything but consider the
views which he held to be right, but now he came
to condemn them as wrong ; he did not know that
what he now called right was not what for fifty-nine
years he had been calling wrong. All things have
the life (which we know), but we do not see its root ;
they have their goings forth, but we do not know
the door by which they depart. Men all honour
that which lies within the sphere of their know-
ledge, but they do not know their dependence on
what lies without that sphere which would be their
(true) knowledge : may we not call their case one
of great perplexity ? Ah ! Ah ! there is no escaping
from this dilemma. So it is ! So it is !

9. Afung-ni asked the Grand Historiographer 2 Tfi
Th&o, (along with) Po A"ang-ien and A^ih-wei,
saying, 'Duke Ling of Wei was so addicted to

1 Confucius thought highly of this JSTd Po-ytt, and they were
friends (Analects, XIV, 26; XV, 6). It would seem from this
paragraph that, in his sixtieth year, he adopted the principles of
Taoism. Whether he really did so we cannot tell. See also
Book IV, par. 5.

8 We must translate here in the singular, for in the historiographer's
department there were only two officers with the title of ' Grand ; '
Po Khang-kh\en and A^ih-wei would be inferior members of it.

PT. III. SECT. III. THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-3ZE. 125

drink, and abandoned to sensuality, that he did not
attend to the government of his state. Occupied in
his pursuit of hunting with his nets and bows, he
kept aloof from the meetings of the princes. In
what was it that he showed his title to the epithet
of Ling 1 ?' T Thdo said, * It was on account of
those very things/ Po AT^ang-^ien said, ' Duke
Ling had three mistresses with whom he used to
bathe in the same tub. (Once, however), when
Shih-jhift came to him with presents from the
imperial court, he made his servants support the
messenger in bearing the gifts 2 . So dissolute was
he in the former case, and when he saw a man of
worth, thus reverent was he to him. It was on this
account that he was styled " Duke Ling/' ' jOih-
wei said, ' When duke Ling died, and they divined
about burying him in the old tomb of his House, the
answer was unfavourable ; when they divined about
burying him on Sh-Mift, the answer was favour-
able. Accordingly they dug there to the depth of
several fathoms, and found a stone coffin. Having
washed and inspected it, they discovered an inscrip-
tion, which said,
" This grave will not be available for your

posterity ;
Duke Ling will appropriate it for himself/'

1 Ling (jfH), as a posthumous epithet, has various meanings,
none of them very bad, and some of them very good. Confucius
ought to have been able to solve his question himself better than
any of the historiographers, but he propounded his doubt to them
for reasons which he, no doubt, had.

2 We are not to suppose that the royal messenger found him in
the tub with his three wives or mistresses. The two incidents
mentioned illustrate two different phases of his character, as some
of the critics, and even the text itself, clearly indicate.

126 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxv.

Thus that epithet of Ling had long been settled
for the duke \ But how should those two be able
to know this ? '

10. Shdo K\h 2 asked Thdi-kung Thido 2 , saying,
* What do we mean by " The Talk of the Hamlets and
Villages ? " ' The reply was, ' Hamlets and Villages
are formed by the union say of ten surnames and
a hundred names, and are considered to be (the
source of) manners and customs. The differences
between them are united to form their common
character, and what is common to them is separately
apportioned to form the differences. If you point
to the various parts which make up the body of a
horse, you do not have the horse; but when the
horse is before you, and all its various parts stand
forth (as forming the animal), you speak of " the
horse." So it is that the mounds and hills are made
to be the elevations that they are by accumulations
of earth which individually are but low. (So also
rivers like) the A^iang and the Ho obtain their
greatness by the union of (other smaller) waters with
them. And (in the same way) the Great man
exhibits the common sentiment of humanity by the
union in himself of all its individualities. Hence
when ideas come to him from without, though he

1 This explanation is, of course, absurd.

2 These two names are both metaphorical, the former meaning
' Small Knowledge/ and the latter, < The Grand Public and Just
Harmonizer/ Small Knowledge would look for the Tdo in the
ordinary talk of ordinary men. The other teaches him that it is
to be found in ' the Great man/ blending in himself what is 'just '
in the sentiments and practice of all men. And so it is to be found
in all the phenomena of nature, but it has itself no name, and does
nothing.

PT. III. SECT. III. THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-3ZE. 1 2 7

has his own decided view, he does not hold it with
bigotry ; and when he gives out his own decisions,
which are correct, the views of others do not oppose
them. The four seasons have their different
elemental characters, but they are not the partial
gifts of Heaven, and so the year completes its
course. The five official departments have their
different duties, but the ruler does not partially
employ any one of them, and so the kingdom is
governed. (The gifts of) peace and war(are different),
but the Great man does not employ the one to the
prejudice of the other, and so the character (of his
administration) is perfect. All things have their
different constitutions and modes of actions, but the
Tao (which directs them) is free from all partiality,
and therefore it has no name. Having no name, it
therefore does nothing. Doing nothing, there is
nothing which it does not do.

' Each season has its ending and beginning ; each
age has its changes and transformations ; misery
and happiness regularly alternate. Here our views
are thwarted, and yet the result may afterwards
have our approval ; there we insist on our own
views, and looking at things differently from others,
try to correct them, while we are in error ourselves,
The case may be compared to that of a great marsh,
in which all its various vegetation finds a place, or
we may look at it as a great hill, where trees and
rocks are found on the same terrace. Such may be
a description of what is intended by " The Talk of
the Hamlets and Villages." '

Shdo Alh said, ' Well, is it sufficient to call it (an
expression of) the T&o?' Thii-kung Thido said,
1 It is not so. If we reckon up the number of things,

128 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXV.

they are not 10,000 merely. When we speak of
them as " the Myriad Things," we simply use that
large number by way of accommodation to denomi-
nate them. In this way Heaven and Earth are the
greatest of all things that have form ; the Yin and
Yang are the greatest of all elemental forces. But
the Teio is common to them. Because of their
greatness to use the To or (Course) as a title and
call it "the Great Tao" is allowable. But what com-
parison can be drawn between it and " the Talk of
the Hamlets and Villages ? " To argue from this
that it is a sufficient expression of the Tdo, is like
calling a dog and a horse by the same name, while
the difference between them is so great/

ii. Shdo K\}\ said, 'Within the limits of the four
cardinal points, and the six boundaries of space, how
was it that there commenced the production of all
things?' Thai-kung Thiao replied, 'The Yin and
Yang reflected light on each other, covered each
other, and regulated each the other ; the four seasons
gave place to one another, produced one another,
and brought one another to an end. Likings and
dislikings, the avoidings of this and movements
towards that, then arose (in the things thus pro-
duced), in their definite distinctness ; and from this
came the separation and union of the male and
female. Then were seen now security and now in-
security, in mutual change ; misery and happiness
produced each other ; gentleness and urgency pressed
on each other ; the movements of collection and
dispersion were established : these names and pro-
cesses can be examined, and, however minute, can
be recorded. The rules determining the order in
which they follow one another, their mutual influence

PT. III. SECT. ill. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. I2Q

now acting directly and now revolving, how, when
they are exhausted, they revive, and how they end
and begin again ; these are the properties belonging
to things. Words can describe them and knowledge
can reach to them ; but with this ends all that can
be said of things. Men who study the Tio do not
follow on when these operations end, nor try to
search out how they began : with this all discussion
of them stops/

Shdo JCih said, ' Ki j&in 1 holds that (the Tdo)
forbids all action, and Afieh-jze l holds that it may
perhaps allow of influence. Which of the two is
correct in his statements, and which is one-sided in
his ruling ? ' Thdi-kung Thido replied, ' Cocks
crow and dogs bark ; this is what all men know.
But men with the greatest wisdom cannot describe
in words whence it is that they are formed (with
such different voices), nor can they find out by think-
ing what they wish to do. We may refine on this
small point ; till it is so minute that there is no point
to operate on, or it may become so great that there
is no embracing it. " Some one caused it ; " " No
one did it ; " but we are thus debating about things ;
and the end is that we shall find we are in error.
" Some one caused it;" then there was a real Being.
" No one did it;" then there was mere vacancy.
To have a name and a real existence, that is the
condition of a thing. Not to have a name, and not

1 Two masters of schools of Taoism. Who the former was I do
not know ; but Sze-md -Oien in the seventy-fourth Book of his
Records mentions several Taoist masters, and among them -ATieh-gze,
a native of KJ& 9 'a student of the arts of the Tdo and its
Characteristics, as taught by Hwang- Tt and Lao-gze, and who also
published his views on the subject.'
[40] K

I3O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxv.

to have real being ; that is vacancy and no thing.
We may speak and we may think about it, but the
more we speak, the wider shall we be of the mark.
Birth, before it comes, cannot be prevented ; death,
when it has happened, cannot be traced farther.
Death and life are not far apart ; but why they have
taken place cannot be seen. That some one has
caused them, or that there has been no action in the
case are but speculations of doubt. When I look
for their origin, it goes back into infinity ; when I
look for their end, it proceeds without termination.
Infinite, unceasing, there is no room for words about
(the To). To regard it as in the category of
things is the origin of the language that it is caused
or that it is the result of doing nothing, but it
would end as it began with things. The Tao can-
not have a (real) existence ; if it has, it cannot be
made to appear as if it had not. The name Tao is
a metaphor, used for the purpose of description l .
To say that it causes or does nothing is but to speak
of one phase of things, and has nothing to do with
the Great Subject. If words were sufficient for the
purpose, in a day's time we might exhaust it ; since
they are not sufficient, we may speak all day, and
only exhaust (the subject of) things. The Tao is
the extreme to which things conduct us. Neither
speech nor silence is sufficient to convey the notion
of it. Neither by speech nor by silence can our
thoughts about it have their highest expression.

1 A very important statement with regard to the meaning of the
name T&o.

PT. III. SECT. IV. THE WRITINGS OF J5TWANG-SZE.

BOOK XXVI.
PART III. SECTION IV.

Wdi Wti, or * What comes from Without V

i. What comes from without cannot be deter-
mined beforehand. So it was that Lung-fang 2 was
killed ; Pi-kan immolated ; and the count of Ki
(made to feign himself) mad, (while) O-lcli died 3 , and
A^ieh and K&M both perished. Rulers all wish their
ministers to be faithful, but that faithfulness may
not secure their confidence ; hence Wti Yiin became
a wanderer along the Alang 4 , and A^ang Hung
died in Shfi, where (the people) preserved his blood
for three years, when it became changed into green
jade 5 . Parents all wish their sons to be filial, but
that filial duty may not secure their love; hence

1 See vol. xxxix, p. 155.

2 The name of Kwan Lung-fang, a great officer of ./Lieh, the
tyrant of Hsid ; see Bk. IV, par i, et al.

3 A scion of the line of Kh\& whose fortunes culminated in Shih
Hwang-Tf. O-lai assisted the tyrant of Shang, and was put to
death by king Wu of ^au.

4 The famous Wu 3ze-hsii, the hero of Revenge, who made his
escape along the -Slang, in about B. c. 512, to Wu, after the murder
of his father and elder brother by the king of jOu.

5 See Bk. X, par. 2. In the 3o-wan, under the third year of
duke Ai, it is related that the people of Kba killed <iang Hung ;
but nothing is said of this being done in Shu, or of his blood
turning to green jade 1 This we owe to the Khun Khti. of Lti.

K 2

132 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxvi.

Hsi&o-t l had to endure his sorrow, and 3ang Sh&n
his grief 2 .

When wood is rubbed against wood, it begins to
burn ; when metal is subjected to fire, it (melts
and) flows. When the Yin and Yang act awry,
heaven and earth are greatly perturbed; and on
this comes the crash of thunder, and from the rain
comes fire, which consumes great locust trees 3 .
(The case of men) is still worse. They are troubled
between two pitfalls 4 , from which they cannot es-
cape. Chrysalis-like, they can accomplish nothing.
Their minds are as if hung up between heaven and
earth. Now comforted, now pitied, they are plunged
in difficulties. The ideas of profit and of injury
rub against each other, and produce in them a very
great fire. The harmony (of the mind) is consumed
in the mass of men. Their moonlike intelligence
cannot overcome the (inward) fire. They thereupon
fall away more and more, and the Course (which
they should pursue) is altogether lost.

2. The family of ./Twang K&M being poor, he went
to ask the loan of some rice from the Marquis Super-
intendent of the Ho 5 , who said, * Yes, I shall be

1 Said to have been the eldest son of king Wu Ting or Kao
Sung of the Yin dynasty. I do not know the events in his expe-
rience to which our author must be referring.

8 The well-known disciple of Confucius, famous for his filial
piety.

8 The lightning accompanying a thunderstorm.

4 The ideas of profit and injury immediately mentioned.

8 In another version of this story, in Liu Hsiang's Shwo Ytian,
XI, art. 13, the party applied to is ' duke W&n of Wei ; ' but this
does not necessarily conflict with the text. The genuineness of
the paragraph is denied by Lin Hsf-^ung and others ; but I seem
to see the hand of ATwang-jze in it.

PT. III. SECT. IV. THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-3ZE. 133

getting the (tax-) money from the people (soon),
and I will then lend you three hundred ounces of
silver ; will that do ? ' TSfwang K&M flushed with
anger, and said, ' On the road yesterday, as I was
coming here, I heard some one calling out. On
looking round, I saw a goby in the carriage rut, and
said to it, "Goby fish, what has brought you here ? "
The goby said, " I am Minister of Waves in the
Eastern Sea. Have you, Sir, a gallon or a pint of
water to keep me alive?" I replied, " Yes, I am
going south to see the kings of Wft and Yueh, and
I will then lead a stream from the Western A^iang
to meet you; will that do ?" The goby flushed
with anger, and said, " I have lost my proper ele-
ment, and I can here do nothing for myself; but if
I could get a gallon or a pint of water, I should
keep alive. Than do what you propose, you had
better soon look for me in a stall of dry fish/' '

3. A son of the duke of Z&n 1 , having provided
himself with a great hook, a powerful black line,
and fifty steers to be used as bait, squatted down
on (mount) Kw&i Khi, and threw the line into the
Eastern Sea. Morning after morning he angled
thus, and for a whole year caught nothing. At the
end of that time, a great fish swallowed the bait,
and dived down, dragging the great hook with him.
Then it rose to the surface in a flurry, and flapped
with its fins, till the white waves rose like hills,
and the waters were lashed into fury. The noise
was like that of imps and spirits, and spread terror

1 I suppose this was merely a district of Kh^ and the duke of
it merely the officer in charge of it ; according to the practice of
the rulers of -ffM, after they usurped the title of King.

134 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXVI.

for a thousand li. The prince having got such a
fish, cut it in slices and dried them. From the A!eh
river l to the east, and from 3hang-wft 2 to the north,
there was not one who did not eat his full from that
fish ; and in subsequent generations, story-tellers of
small abilities have all repeated the story to one
another with astonishment. (But) if the prince had
taken his rod, with a fine line, and gone to pools
and ditches, and watched for minnows and gobies, it
would have been difficult for him to get a large fish.
Those who dress up their small tales to obtain favour
with the magistrates are far from being men of great
understanding ; and therefore one who has not heard
the story of this scion of Zan is not fit to take any
part in the government of the world; far is he
from being so 3 .

4. Some literati, students of the Odes and Cere-
monies, were breaking open a mound over a grave 4 .
The superior among them spoke down to the others,
' Day is breaking in the east ; how is the thing going
on ?' The younger men replied, ' We have not yet
opened his jacket and skirt, but there is a pearl in
the mouth. As it is said in the Ode,

" The bright, green grain
Is growing on the sides of the mound.

1 The ffl ffi of th e text = the Jjjff jfc, still giving its name to
the province so called.

2 Where Shun was buried.

8 This last sentence is difficult to construe, and to understand.
The genuineness of this paragraph is also questioned, and the style
is inferior to that of the preceding.

4 I can conceive of ATwang-jze telling this story of some literati
who had been acting as resurrectionists, as a joke against their
class ; but not of his writing it to form a part of his work.

PT. III. SECT. IV. THE WRITINGS OF JSTWANG-3ZE. 135

While living, he gave nothing away ;

Why, when dead, should he hold a pearl in his

mouth 1 ?"'

Thereupon they took hold of the whiskers and
pulled at the beard, while the superior introduced
a piece of fine steel into the chin, and gradually
separated the jaws, so as not to injure the pearl in
the mouth.

5. A disciple of Lo Ldi-jze 2 , while he was out
gathering firewood, met with jfifung-nl. On his return,
he told (his master), saying, c There is a man there,
the upper part of whose body is long and the lower
part short. He is slightly hump-backed, and his ears
are far back. When you look at him, he seems occu-
pied with the cares of all within the four seas ; I do
not know whose son he is.' Lo Ldi-gze said, * It is
Khih] call him here;' and when ICung-ni came, he
said to him, ' jOiu, put away your personal conceit,
and airs of wisdom, and show yourself to be indeed
a superior man/ A\mg-nl bowed and was retiring,
when he abruptly changed his manner, and asked,
* Will the object I am pursuing be thereby advanced ?'
Lo Ldi-jze replied, * You cannot bear the sufferings
of this one age, and are stubbornly regardless of the

1 This verse is not found, so far as I know, anywhere else.

2 Lao Lai-jze appears here as a contemporary of Confucius, and
the master of a Taoistic school, and this also is the view of him
which we receive from the accounts in Sze-ma -Oien and Hwang-
fft Mi. Sze-ma says he published a work in fifteen sections on the
usefulness of Taoism. Some have imagined that he was the same
as Lao-jze himself, but there does not appear any ground for that
opinion. He is one of the twenty-four examples of Filial Piety so
celebrated among the Chinese ; but I suspect that the accounts of
him as such are fabrications. He certainly lectures Confucius here
m a manner worthy of Lao Tan.

136 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXVI.

evils of a myriad ages : is it that you purposely
make yourself thus unhappy ? or is it that you have
not the ability to comprehend the case? Your
obstinate purpose to make men rejoice in a partici-
pation of your joy is your life-long shame, the proce-
dure of a mediocre man. You would lead men by
your fame; you would bind them to you by your
secret art. Than be praising Yo and condemning
Aleh, you had better forget them both, and shut up
your tendency to praise. If you reflect on it, it does
nothing but injury; your action in it is entirely wrong.
The sage is full of anxiety and indecision in under-
taking anything, and so he is always successful. But
what shall I say of your conduct ? To the end it is
all affectation.'

6. The ruler Yuan of Sung 1 (once) dreamt at mid-
night that a man with dishevelled hair peeped in on
him at a side door and said, ' I was coming from the
abyss of 3^i'16 commissioned by the Clear Amng to
go to the place of the Earl of the Ho ; but the fisher-
man Yii 3u has caught me/ When the ruler Yuan
awoke, he caused a diviner to divine the meaning (of
the dream), and was told, ' This is a marvellous tor-
toise/ The ruler asked if among the fishermen there
was one called Yu 3u, and being told by his atten-
dants that there was, he gave orders that he should
be summoned to court. Accordingly the man next
day appeared at court, and the ruler said, 'What
have you caught (lately) in fishing ? ' The reply
was, ' I have caught in my net a white tortoise, sieve-
like, and five cubits round/ ' Present the prodigy
here/ said the ruler ; and, when it came, once and

1 Compare in Bk. XXI, par. 7.

PT. III. SECT. IV. THE WRITINGS OF WANG-3ZE. 137

again he wished to kill it, once and again he wished
to keep it alive. Doubting in his mind (what to do),
he had recourse to divination, and obtained the
answer, ' To kill the tortoise for use in divining will
be fortunate/ Accordingly they cut the creature
open, and perforated its shell in seventy-two places,
and there was not a single divining slip which
failed 1 .

./sfiing-nl said, ' The spirit-like tortoise could show
itself in a dream to the ruler Yuan, and yet it could
not avoid the net of Yu 3u. Its wisdom could re-
spond on seventy-two perforations without failing in
a single divination, and yet it could not avoid the
agony of having its bowels all scooped out. We see
from this that wisdom is not without its perils, and
spirit-like intelligence does not reach to everything.
A man may have the greatest wisdom, but there are
a myriad men scheming against him. Fishes do not
fear the net, though they fear the pelican. Put away
your small wisdom, and your great wisdom will be
bright ; discard your skilfulness, and you will become
naturally skilful. A child when it is born needs no
great master, and yet it becomes able to speak, living
(as it does) among those who are able to speak/

7. Hui-jze said to TTwang-jze, ' You speak, Sir, of
what is of no use/ The reply was, ' When a man
knows what is not useful, you can then begin to
speak to him of what is useful. The earth for in-
stance is certainly spacious and great ; but what a

1 The story of this wonderful tortoise is found at much greater
length, and with variations, in Sze-mS, Alien's Records, Bk. LXVIII,
q. v. The moral of it is given in the concluding remarks from
Confucius.

1 38 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxvi.

man uses of it is only sufficient ground for his feet.
If, however, a rent were made by the side of his feet,
down to the yellow springs, could the man still make
use of it ?' Hui-jze said, ' He could not use it/ and
./ifwang-jze rejoined, * Then the usefulness of what is
of no use is clear V

8. A^wang-jze said, ' If a man have the power to
enjoy himself (in any pursuit), can he be kept from
doing so ? If he have not the power, can he so
enjoy himself? There are those whose aim is bent
on concealing themselves, and those who are deter-
mined that their doings shall leave no trace. Alas '
they both shirk the obligations of perfect knowledge
and great virtue. The (latter) fall, and cannot re-
cover themselves ; the (former) rush on like fire, and
do not consider (what they are doing). Though men
may stand to each other in the relation of ruler and
minister, that is but for a time. In a changed age,
the one of them would not be able to look down
on the other. Hence it is said, " The Perfect man
leaves no traces of his conduct."

'To honour antiquity and despise the present time
is the characteristic of learners 2 ; but even the dis-
ciples of A^ih-wei 3 have to look at the present age ;
and who can avoid being carried along by its course ?
It is only the Perfect man who is able to enjoy him-
self in the world, and not be deflected from the right,

1 See Bk. I, par. 6, and XXIV, par. 14. The conversations
between our author and Hui-jze often turned on this subject.

* Does our author mean by ' learners ' the literati, the disciples
of Confucius ?

8 JTMi-wei, see Bk. VI, par. 7. Perhaps 'the disciples of
A%ih-wei ' are those who m our author's time called themselves
such, but were not.

PT. ill. SECT. iv. THE WRITINGS OF JHVANG-3ZE. 139

to accommodate himself to others and not lose him-
self. He does not learn their lessons ; he only takes
their ideas into consideration, and does not discard
them as different from his own.

9. ' It is the penetrating eye that gives clear vision,
the acute ear that gives quick hearing, the discrimi-
nating nose that gives discernment of odours, the
practised mouth that gives the enjoyment of flavours,
the active mind that acquires knowledge, and the
far-reaching knowledge that constitutes virtue. In
no case does the connexion with what is without like
to be obstructed ; obstruction produces stoppage ;
stoppage, continuing without intermission, arrests
all progress ; and with this all injurious effects
spring up.

' The knowledge of all creatures depends on their
breathing 1 . But if their breath be not abundant,
it is not the fault of Heaven, which tries to penetrate
them with it, day and night without ceasing; but
men notwithstanding shut their pores against it.
The womb encloses a large and empty space ; the
heart has its spontaneous and enjoyable movements.
If their apartment be not roomy, wife and mother-
in-law will be bickering ; if the heart have not its
spontaneous and enjoyable movements, the six facul-
ties of perception 2 will be in mutual collision. That

1 There seems to underlie this statement the Taoist dogma
about the regulation of the ' breath/ as conducive to long life and
mental cultivation.

2 Probably what in Buddhist literature are called ' the Six En-
trances (^ ,A)/ what Ma 7 ers denominates 'The Six Organs of
Admittance, or Bodily Sensations,' the Sha^dyatana, the eye,
ear, nose, mouth, body, and mind, one of the twelve Niddnas
m the Buddhist system.

J4O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK.XXVI.

the great forests, the heights and hills, are pleasant
to men, is because their spirits cannot overcome
(those distracting influences). Virtue overflows into
(the love of) fame ; (the love of) fame overflows into
violence ; schemes originate in the urgency (of cir-
cumstances) ; (the show of) wisdom comes from
rivalry; the fuel (of strife) is produced from the
obstinate maintenance (of one's own views) ; the
business of offices should be apportioned in accord-
ance with the approval of all. In spring, when the
rain and the sunshine come seasonably, vegetation
grows luxuriantly, and sickles and hoes begin to be
prepared. More than half of what had fallen down
becomes straight, and we do not know how.

10. ' Stillness and silence are helpful to those who
are ill ; rubbing the corners of the eyes is helpful to
the aged ; rest serves to calm agitation ; but they
are the toiled and troubled who have recourse to
these things. Those who are at ease, and have not
had such experiences, do not care to ask about them.
The spirit-like man has had no experience of how
it is that the sagely man keeps the world in awe,
and so he does not inquire about it; the sagely man has
had no experience of how it is that the man of ability
and virtue keeps his age in awe, and so he does not in-
quire about it ; the man of ability and virtue has had
no experience of how it is that the superior man
keeps his state in awe, and so he does not inquire about
it. The superior man has had no experience of
how it is that the small man keeps himself in agree-
ment with his times that he should inquire about it/

1 1. The keeper of the Yen Gate 1 , on the death of

1 The name of one of the gates in the wall of the capital of
Sung.

PT. III. SECT. IV. THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-3ZE

his father, showed so much skill in emaciating his
person l that he received the rank of ' Pattern for
Officers/ Half the people of his neighbourhood (in
consequence) carried their emaciation to such a point
that they died. When Ydo wished to resign the
throne to Hsu Yti, the latter ran away. When
Thang offered his to Wti Kwang 2 , Wti Kwang be-
came angry. When Ki Th 3 heard it, he led his
disciples, and withdrew to the river Kho, where
the feudal princes came and condoled with him, and
after three years, Shan Thfi-tl 4 threw himself into the
water. Fishing-stakes 6 are employed to catch fish ;
but when the fish are got, the men forget the stakes.
Snares are employed to catch hares, but when the
hares are got, men forget the snares. Words are
employed to convey ideas ; but when the ideas are
apprehended, men forget the words. Fain would
I talk with such a man who has forgot the words !

1 The abstinences and privations in mourning were so many
that there was a danger of their seriously injuring the health ;
which was forbidden.

2 See Bk. VI, par. 3 ; but in the note there, Wu Kwang is said
to have been of the time of Hwang-Tt ; which is probably an error.

8 See IV, par. 3 ; but I do not know who J5Ti Thd was, nor can I
explain what is said of him here.

4 See again IV, par. 3.

8 According to some, ' baskets.' This illustration is quoted in
the Inscription on the Nestorian Monument, II, 7.

142 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xx VII.

BOOK XXVII.
PART III. SECTION V.

Yu Yen, or * Metaphorical Language 1 /

i. Of my sentences nine in ten are metaphorical ;
of my illustrations seven in ten are from valued
writers. The rest of my words are like the water
that daily fills the cup, tempered and harmonised by
the Heavenly element in our nature 2 .

The nine sentences in ten which are metaphorical
are borrowed from extraneous things to assist (the
comprehension of) my argument. (When it is said,
for instance), ' A father does not act the part of'
matchmaker for his own son/ (the meaning is that)
* it is better for another man to praise the son than
for his father to do so/ The use of such meta-
phorical language is not my fault, but the fault of
men (who would not otherwise readily under-
stand me).

Men assent to views which agree with their own,
and oppose those which do not so agree. Those
which agree with their own they hold to be right,
and those which do not so agree they hold to be
wrong. The seven out of ten illustrations taken
from valued writers are designed to put an end to
disputations. Those writers are the men of hoary
eld, my predecessors in time. But such as are un-

1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 155, 156. 2 See Bk. II, par. 10.

PT. III. SECT. v. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 143

versed in the warp and woof, the beginning and end
of the subject, cannot be set down as of venerable
eld, and regarded as the predecessors of others.
If men have not that in them which fits them to
precede others, they are without the way proper
to man, and they who are without the way proper to
man can only be pronounced defunct monuments of
antiquity.

Words like the water that daily issues from the
cup, and are harmonised by the Heavenly Element
(of our nature), may be carried on into the region of
the unlimited, and employed to the end of our years.
But without words there is an agreement (in prin-
ciple). That agreement is not effected by words,
and an agreement in words is not effected by it.
Hence it is said, c Let there be no words/ Speech
does not need words. One may speak all his life,
and not have spoken a (right) word ; and one may
not have spoken all his life, and yet all his life
been giving utterance to the (right) words. There
is that which makes a thing allowable, and that
which makes a thing not allowable. There is that
which makes a thing right, and that which makes a
thing not right. How is a thing right ? It is right
because it is right. How is a thing wrong ? It is
wrong because it is wrong. How is a thing allow-
able ? It is allowable because it is so. How is a
thing not allowable ? It is not allowable because it
is not so. Things indeed have what makes them
right, and what makes them allowable. There is
nothing which has not its condition of right ; nothing
which has not its condition of allowability. But
without the words of the (water-) cup in daily use,
and harmonised by the Heavenly Element (in our

144 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. EK. XXVII.

nature), what one can continue long in the possession
of these characteristics ?

All things are divided into their several classes,
and succeed to one another in the same way, though
of different bodily forms. They begin and end as
in an unbroken ring, though how it is they do so
be not apprehended. This is what is called the
Lathe of Heaven ; and the Lathe of Heaven is the
Heavenly Element in our nature.

2. AVang-jze said to Hui-jze, f When Confucius
was in his sixtieth year, in that year his views
changed l . What he had before held to be right, he
now ended by holding to be wrong ; and he did not
know whether the things which he now pronounced
to be right were not those which he had for fifty-nine
years held to be wrong/ Hui-jze replied, ' Confucius
with an earnest will pursued the acquisition of know-
ledge, and acted accordingly. 1 jfiTwang-jze rejoined,
' Confucius disowned such a course, and never said
that it was his. He said, " Man receives his powers
from the Great Source 2 (of his being), and he should
restore them to their (original) intelligence in his
life. His singing should be in accordance with the
musical tubes, and his speech a model for imitation.
When profit and righteousness are set before him,
and his liking (for the latter) and dislike (of the

1 Compare this with the same language about Kii Po-yti in
Bk. XXV, par. 8. There is no proof to support our author's
assertion that the views of Confucius underwent any change.

2 ' The Great Source (Root) ' here is generally explained by
' the Grand Beginning/ It is not easy to say whether we are to
understand an ideal condition of man designed from the first, or
the condition of every man as he is born into the world On the
1 powers ' received by man, see Mencius VI, i, 6.

PT. III. SECT. v. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 145

former), his approval and disapproval, are mani-
fested, that only serves to direct the speech of men
(about him). To make men in heart submit, and
not dare to stand up in opposition to him ; to esta-
blish the fixed law for all under heaven : ah ! ah !
I have not attained to that." '

3. 3^ng-jze twice took office, and on the two
occasions his state of mind was different He said,
' While my parents were alive I took office, and
though my emolument was only three fti 1 (of grain),
my mind was happy. Afterwards when I took office,
my emolument was three thousand ^ung 2 ; but I
could not share it with my parents, and my mind
was sad/ The other disciples asked A'iing-nf, say-
ing, ' Such an one as Shan may be pronounced free
from all entanglement : is he to be blamed for
feeling as he did 3 ? ' The reply was, ' But he was
subject to entanglement 4 . If he had been free
from it, could he have had that sadness ? He
would have looked on his three fft and three thou-
sand ^ung no more than on a heron or a mosquito
passing before him.'

4. Yen A^ang 3ze-yft said to Tung-kwo ze.-kh\. 6 ,
* When I (had begun to) hear your instructions, the
first year, I continued a simple rustic ; the second

1 A ffi = ten tdu and four shing, or sixty-four shing, the
shing at present being rather less than an English pint.

2 A ung = sixty-four tdu; but there are various accounts of
its size.

8 This sentence is difficult to construe.

4 But Confucius could not count his love for his parents an
entanglement.

6 We must suppose this master to be the same as the Nan-kwo
ofBk. II.

[40] L

146 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM BK. xxvn.

year, I became docile ; the third year, I compre-
hended (your teaching) ; the fourth year, I was
(plastic) as a thing ; the fifth year, I made advances ;
the sixth year, the spirit entered (and dwelt in
me) ; the seventh year, (my nature as designed by)
Heaven was perfected ; the eighth year, I knew no
difference between death and life ; the ninth year, I
attained to the Great Mystery 1 .

' Life has its work to do, and death ensues, (as if)
the common character of each were a thing pre-
scribed. Men consider that their death has its
cause ; but that life from (the operation of) the
Yang has no cause. But is it really so ? How
does (the Yang) operate in this direction ? Why
does it not operate there ?

' Heaven has its places^ and spaces which can be
calculated ; (the divisions of) the earth can be assigned
by men. But how shall we search for and find out
(the conditions of the Great Mystery) ? We do not
know when and how (life) will end, but how shall we
conclude that it is not determined (from without) ?
and as we do not know when and how it begins, how
should we conclude that it is not (so) determined ?

' In regard to the issues of conduct which we deem
appropriate, how should we conclude that there are
no spirits presiding over them ; and where those
issues seem inappropriate, how should we conclude
that there are spirits presiding over them ? '

1 In illustration of the text here Lu Shu-&h refers to the use of
Miao (j$), m the account of the term Spirit/ in the fifth Ap-
pendix to the Yt, par. 10, as meaning 'the subtle (presence and
operation of God) wiih all things/ 3ze-yu's further exposition of
his attainments is difficult to understand fully.

PT. III. SECT. v. THE WRITINGS OF HTWANG-3ZE. 147

5. The penumbrae (once) asked the shadow 1 ,
saying, ' Formerly you were looking down, and now
you are looking up; formerly you had your hair
tied up, and now it is dishevelled; formerly you
were sitting, and now you have risen up ; formerly
you were walking, and now you have stopped :
how is all this?' The shadow said, 'Venerable
Sirs, how do you ask me about such small matters ?
These things all belong to me, but I do not know
how they do so. I am (like) the shell of a cicada
or the cast-off skin of a snake 2 ; like them, and yet
not like them. With light and the sun I make my
appearance ; with darkness and the night I fade
away. Am not I dependent on the substance from
which I am thrown? And that substance is itself
dependent on something else ! When it comes, I
come with it ; when it goes, I go with it. When it
comes under the influence of the strong Yang, I
come under the same. Since we are both produced
by that strong Yang, what occasion is there for you
to question me ? '

6. Yang 3ze->u 3 had gone South to Phei 4 , while
L&o Tan was travelling in the west in A^in 6 . (He
thereupon) asked (Ldo-jze) to come to the border
(of Phei), and went himself to Liang, where he met
him. L&O-JZC stood in the middle of the way, and,
looking up to heaven, said with a sigh, ' At first I
thought that you might be taught, but now I see
that you cannot be/ Yang 3ze-ii made no reply ;

1 Compare Bk. II, par. 1 1.

2 Such is the reading of 3iao Hung.

8 No doubt the Yang Kb of Lieh-jze and Mencius.
* Seem XIV, 26 b.

6 In the borders of Phei; can hardly be the great State.
L 2

148 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxvil.

and when they came to their lodging-house, he
brought in water for the master to wash his hands
and rinse his mouth, along with a towel and comb.
He then took off his shoes outside the door, went
forward on his knees, and said, * Formerly, your
disciple wished to ask you, Master, (the reason
of what you said) ; but you were walking, and there
was no opportunity, and therefore I did not presume
to speak. Now there is an opportunity, and I beg
to ask why you spoke as you did/ L&O-JZC replied,
' Your eyes are lofty, and you stare ; who would live
with you ? The purest carries himself as if he were
soiled ; the most virtuous seems to feel himself de-
fective/ Yang 3ze-^u looked abashed and changed
countenance, saying, ' I receive your commands with
reverence/

When he first went to the lodging-house, the
people of it met him and went before him. The
master of it carried his mat for him, and the mistress
brought the towel and comb. The lodgers left their
mats, and the cook his fire-place (as he passed them).
When he went away, the others in the house would
have striven with him about (the places for) their
mats \

1 So had his arrogant superciliousness given place to humility.

PT. III. SECT. VI. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 149

BOOK XXVIII.
PART III. SECTION VI.

Zang Wang, or ' Kings who have wished to resign
the Throne V

i. Yao proposed to resign the throne to Hsu Yti,
who would not accept it. He then offered it to
3^e-^au A'ih-ftl 2 , but he said, ' It is not unreasonable
to propose that I should occupy the throne, but I
happen to be suffering under a painful sorrow and
illness. While I am engaged in dealing with it,
I have not leisure to govern the kingdom/ Now
the throne is the most important of all positions,
and yet this man would not occupy it to the injury
of his life ; how much less would he have allowed
any other thing to do so ' But only he who does
not care to rule the kingdom is fit to be entrusted
with it.

Shun proposed to resign the throne to 3 ze ~^ u
A'ih-po 2 , who declined in the very same terms as
Alh-fti had done. Now the kingdom is the greatest
of all concerns, and yet this man would not give his
life in exchange for the throne. This shows how
they who possess the Tio differ from common
men.

1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 156, 157.

* We know nothing of this man but what is related here. He is,
no doubt, a fictitious character. A'ih-fti and ATih-po are supposed
to be the same individual. See Hwang-ffi Mi, I, 7.

I5O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxvm.

Shun proposed to resign the throne to Shan
A'iian *, who said, ' I am a unit in the midst of space
and time. In winter I wear skins and furs; in
summer, grass-cloth and linen ; in spring I plough
and sow, my strength being equal to the toil , in
autumn I gather in my harvest, and am prepared to
cease from labour and eat. At sunrise I get up and
work ; at sunset I rest. So do I enjoy myself
between heaven and earth, and my mind is content :
why should I have anything to do with the
throne ? Alas ! that you, Sir, do not know me
better ' ' Thereupon he declined the proffer, and
went away, deep among the hills, no man knew where.

Shun proposed to resign the throne to his friend,
a farmer of Shih-hft 2 . The farmer, however, said (to
himself), * How full of vigour does our lord show
himself, and how exuberant is his strength ' If
Shun with all his powers be not equal (to the task
of government, how should I be so ?).' On this he
took his wife on his back, led his son by the hand,
and went away to the sea-coast, from which to the
end of his life he did not come back.

When ThAZ-wang Than-fti 3 was dwelling in Pin ',
the wild tribes of the North attacked him. He tried
to serve them with skins and silks, but they were
not satisfied. He tried to serve them with dogs
and horses, but they were not satisfied, and then

1 Nor do we know more of Shan Auan, though Mi relates a visit
of Yao to him.

2 Name of a place ; where it was is very uncertain.

* An ancestor of the House of ^Tau, who about B c. 1325 removed
from Pin (in the present small department so called of Shen-hsi),
and settled in the district of -OJ-shan, department of F&ig-jhiang.
He was the grandfather of king Wan.

PT. III. SECT. vi. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 151

with pearls and jade, but they were not satisfied.
What they sought was his territory. Thdi-wang
Than-fft said (to his people), * To dwell with the elder
brother and cause the younger brother to be killed,
or with the father and cause the son to be killed, this
is what I cannot bear to do. Make an effort, my
children, to remain here. What difference is there
between being my subjects, or the subjects of those
wild people ? And I have heard that a man does not
use that which he employs for nourishing his people
to injure them/ Thereupon he took his staff and
switch and left, but the people followed him in an
unbroken train, and he established a (new) state at
the foot of mount Kh\ l . Thus Thdi-wang Than-ffl
might be pronounced one who could give its (due)
honour to life. Those who are able to do so,
though they may be rich and noble, will not, for
that which nourishes them, injure their persons,
and though they may be poor and mean, will not,
for the sake of gain, involve their bodies (in danger).
The men of the present age who occupy high offices
and are of honourable rank all lose these (advan-
tages) again, and in the prospect of gain lightly
expose their persons to ruin : is it not a case of
delusion ?

The people of Yueh three times in succession
killed their ruler, and the prince Su 2 , distressed
by it, made his escape to the caves of Tan, so that
Yueh was left without a ruler. The people sought

1 See note 3, p. 150.

* Sze-ma A^ien takes up the history of Ytieh at a later period,
and we have from him no details of this prince Sau. Tan-hstteh was
the name of a district in the south of Ytieh, in which was a valley
with caves containing cinnabar ; the fabled home of the phoenix

152 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXVIII.

for the prince, but could not find him, till (at last) they
followed him to the cave of Tan. The prince was
not willing to come out to them, but they smoked
him out with moxa, and made him mount the royal
chariot. As he took hold of the strap, and mounted
the carriage, he looked up to heaven, and called out,
1 O Ruler, O Ruler, could you not have spared me
this ? ' Prince Sau did not dislike being ruler ; he
disliked the evil inseparable from being so. It may
be said of him that he would not for the sake of
a kingdom endanger his life ; and this indeed was
the reason why the people of Yueh wanted to get
him for their ruler.

2. Han 1 and Wei 1 were contending about some
territory which one of them had wrested from the
other. gze-hwa ^ ze 2 wen t to see the marquis A'ao-hsi
(of Han) 3 , and, finding him looking sorrowful, said,
1 Suppose now that all the states were to sign an
agreement before you to the effect that " Whoever
should with his left hand carry off (the territory in
dispute) should lose his right hand, and whoever
should do so with his right hand should lose his
left hand, but that, nevertheless, he who should carry
it off was sure to obtain the whole kingdom ;" would
your lordship feel yourself able to carry it off?'
The marquis said, ' I would not carry it off/ and
3ze-hw& rejoined, 'Very good. Looking at the
thing from this point of view, your two arms are of
more value to you than the whole kingdom. But

1 Two of the three states into which the great state of 3 in was
divided about the beginning of the fifth century B.C.
* A native, we may call him a philosopher, of Wei.
8 Began his rule in B.C. 359.

FT. III. SECT. vi. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANGrSZE, 153

your body is of more value than your two arms, and
Han is of much less value than the whole kingdom.
The territory for which you are now contending is
further much less important than Han : your lord-
ship, since you feel so much concern for your body,
should not be endangering your life by indulging
your sorrow/

The marquis A^o-hsi said, ' Good ' Many have
given me their counsel about this matter; but I
never heard what you have said/ 3 7 -e-hwi 3ze may
be said to have known well what was of great
importance and what was of little.

3. The ruler of Lfi, having heard that Yen Ho 1
had attained to the Tao, sent a messenger, with a
gift of silks, to prepare the way for further communi-
cation with him. Yen Ho was waiting at the door
of a mean house, in a dress of coarse hempen cloth,
and himself feeding a cow 2 . When the messenger
arrived, Yen Ho himself confronted him. * Is this/
said the messenger, ' the house of Yen Ho ? ' * It
is/ was the reply ; and the other was presenting the
silks to him, when he said, ' I am afraid you heard
(your instructions) wrongly, and that he who sent
you will blame you. You had better make sure/
The messenger on this returned, and made sure
that he was right ; but when he came back, and
sought for Yen Ho, he was not to be found.

Yes; men like Yen Ho do of a truth dislike
riches and honours. Hence it is said, 'The true

1 Perhaps the Yen Ho of IV, 5.

2 The same thing is often seen at the present day. The party
in charge of the cow pours its prepared food down its throat from
a joint of bamboo.

154 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxvili.

object of the Tio is the regulation of the person.
Quite subordinate to this is its use in the manage-
ment of the state and the clan ; while the govern-
ment of the kingdom is but the dust and refuse of it'
From this we may see that the services of the Tls
and Kings are but a surplusage of the work of the
sages, and do not contribute to complete the person
or nourish the life. Yet the superior men of the
present age will, most of them, throw away their
lives for the sake of their persons, in pursuing their
(material) objects ; is it not cause for grief? When-
ever a sage is initiating any movement, he is sure
to examine the motive which influences him, and
what he is about to do. Here, however, is a man,
who uses a pearl like that of the marquis of Sui l to
shoot a bird at a distance of 10,000 feet. All men
will laugh at him ; and why ? Because the thing
which he uses is of great value, and what he wishes
to get is of little. And is not life of more value
than the pearl of the marquis of Sui ?

4. 3 z e 2 Lieh-jze 2 was reduced to extreme poverty,
and his person had a hungry look. A visitor men-
tioned the case to 3ze-yang, (the premier) of A"ang,
saying, ' Lieh Yii-khiu, I believe, is a scholar who
has attained to the T&o. Is it because our ruler does
not love (such) scholars, that he should be living in
his state in such poverty ? ' 3 ze -y an g immediate!)
ordered an officer to send to him a supply of grain.

1 Sui was a small feudal state, a dependency of Wei. Its name
remains in the Sui-Mu, Teh-an department, Hti-pei. The story is
that one of its lords having healed a wounded snake, the creature
one night brought him a large pearl in its mouth.

2 The phraseology is peculiar. See Introductory Note on Bk
XXXII.

PT. in. SECT. vi. THE WRITINGS OF J5TWANG-3ZE. 155

When Lieh-jze saw the messenger, he bowed to him
twice, and declined the gift, on which the messenger
went away. On Lieh-jze's going into the house, his
wife looked to him and beat her breast, saying, ' I
have heard that the wife and children of a possessor
of the Tao all enjoy plenty and ease, but now we
look starved. The ruler has seen his error, and sent
you a present of food, but you would not receive it ;
is it appointed (for us to suffer thus) ? ' 3ze Lieh-
jze laughed and said to her, ' The ruler does not him-
self know me. Because of what some one said to
him, he sent me the grain ; but if another speak
(differently) of me to him, he may look on me as a
criminal. This was why I did not receive the
grain/

In the end it did come about, that the people, on
an occasion of trouble and disorder, put 3 ze ~Y an g to
death.

5. When king A'ao of Kkb l lost his kingdom, the
sheep-butcher Yueh followed him in his flight. When
the king (recovered) his kingdom and returned to it,
and was going to reward those who had followed
him, on coming to the sheep-butcher Yueh, that
personage said, 'When our Great King lost his
kingdom, I lost my sheep-killing. When his majesty
got back his kingdom, I also got back my sheep-
killing. My income and rank have been recovered *
why speak further of rewarding me ? ' The king,
(on hearing of this reply), said, ' Force him (to take
the reward);' but Yueh said, * It was not through
any crime of mine that the king lost his kingdom,

1 B.C. 515-489. He was driven from his capital by an invasion
of Wfi, directed by Wft 3ze-hsU.

156 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXVIII.

and therefore I did not dare to submit to the death
(which would have been mine if I had remained in
the capital). And it was not through any service of
mine that he recovered his kingdom, and therefore I
do not dare to count myself worthy of any reward
from him/

The king (now) asked that the butcher should be
introduced to him, but Yiieh said, ' According to the
law of Kh^, great reward ought to be given to great
service, and the recipient then be introduced to the
king ; but now my wisdom was not sufficient to pre-
serve the kingdom, nor my courage sufficient to die
at the hands of the invaders. When the army of
Wfi entered, I was afraid of the danger, and got
out of the way of the thieves ; it was not with a
distinct purpose (of loyalty) that I followed the king.
And now he wishes, in disregard of the law, and
violations of the conditions of our social compact, to
see me in court ; this is not what I would like to
be talked of through the kingdom.' The king said
to 3ze-/zi, the Minister of War, ' The position of the
sheep-butcher Yueh is low and mean, but his setting
forth of what is right is very high ; do you ask him
for me to accept the place of one of my three most
distinguished nobles V (This being communicated
to Yueh), he said, ' I know that the place of such a
distinguished noble is nobler than a sheep-butcher s
stall, and that the salary of 10,000 ^ung is more than
its profits. But how should I, through my greed of
rank and emolument, bring on our ruler the name of
an unlawful dispensation of his gifts ? I dare not

1 Literally, ' My three banners or flags/ emblems of the favour
of the sovereign.

PT. III. SECT. VI. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 157

respond to your wishes, but desire to return to my
stall as the sheep-butcher/ Accordingly he did not
accept (the proffered reward).

6. Yuan Hsien 1 was living in Lfl. His house,
whose walls were only a few paces round, looked as
if it were thatched with a crop of growing grass ; its
door of brushwood was incomplete, with branches of
a mulberry tree for its side-posts ; the window of
each of its two apartments was formed by an earthen-
ware jar (in the wall), which was stuffed with some
coarse serge. It leaked above, and was damp on
the ground beneath ; bu-t there he sat composedly,
playing on his guitar. 3 ze "kung, in an inner robe
of purple and an outer one of pure white, riding in
a carriage drawn by two large horses, the hood of
which was too high to get into the lane (leading to
the house), went to see him. Yuan Hsien, in a cap
made of bark, and slippers without heels, and with a
stalk of hellebore for a staff, met him at the door.
' Alas ! Master/ said 3ze-kung, ' that you should be
in such distress ! ' Yuan Hsien answered him, ' I
have heard that to have no money is to be poor, and
that not to be able to carry one's learning into prac-
tice is to be distressed. I am poor but not in dis-
tress/ 3ze-kung shrank back, and looked ashamed,
on which the other laughed and said, ' To act with
a view to the world's (praise) ; to pretend to be public-
spirited and yet be a partisan ; to learn in order to
please men ; to teach for the sake of one's own gain ;
to conceal one's wickedness under the garb of

1 A disciple of Confucius, called also Yuan Sze; see Confucian
Analects VI, iii, 3. With the description of his house or hut, com-
pare in the U t, XXVIII, 10.

158 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXVIII.

benevolence and righteousness ; and to be fond of
the show of chariots and horses : these are things
which Hsien cannot bear to do/

3ang-jze was residing in Wei. He wore a robe
quilted with hemp, and had no outer garment ; his
countenance looked rough and emaciated ; his hands
and feet were horny and callous ; he would be three
days without lighting a fire ; in ten years he did not
have a new suit ; if he put his cap on straight, the
strings would break ; if he drew tight the overlap of
his robe, his elbow would be seen ; in putting on his
shoes, the heels would burst them. Yet dragging
his shoes along, he sang the ' Sacrificial Odes of
Shang ' with a voice that filled heaven and earth as
if it came from a bell or a sounding stone. The
Son of Heaven could not get him to be a minister;
no feudal prince could get him for his friend. So it
is that he who is nourishing his mind's aim forgets
his body, and he who is nourishing his body discards
all thoughts of gain, and he who is carrying out the
To forgets his own mind.

Confucius said to Yen Hui, ' Come here, Hui.
Your family is poor, and your position is low ; why
should you not take office ?' Hui replied, ' I have
no wish to be in office. Outside the suburban dis-
trict I possess fields to the extent of fifty acres,
which are sufficient to supply me with congee ; and
inside it I have ten acres, which are sufficient to
supply me with silk and flax. I find my pleasure in
playing on my lute, and your doctrines, Master,
which I study, are sufficient for my enjoyment;
I do not wish to take office/ Confucius looked sad,
changed countenance, and said, ' How good is the
mind of Hui ! I have heard that he who is con-

PT. ill. SECT. vi. THE WRITINGS OF "WANG-3ZE. 159

tented will not entangle himself with the pursuit of
gain, that he who is conscious of having gained (the
truth) in himself is not afraid of losing other things,
and that he who cultivates the path of inward rec-
tification is not ashamed though he may have no
official position. I have long been preaching this ;
but to-day I see it realised in Hui : this is what I
have gained/

7. Prince Mdu 1 of .ATung-shan l spoke to ATan-jze 2 ,
saying, * My body has its place by the streams and
near the sea, but my mind dwells at the court of
Wei ; what have you to say to me in the circum-
stances ? ' A'an-jze replied, * Set the proper value
on your life. When one sets the proper value on
his life, gain seems to him unimportant/ The prince
rejoined, ' I know that, but I am not able to over-
come (my wishes)/ The reply was, ' If you cannot
master yourself (in the matter), follow (your inclina-
tions so that) your spirit may not be dissatisfied.
When you cannot master yourself, and try to force
yourself where your spirit does not follow, this is
what is called doing yourself a double^ injury ; and
those who so injure themselves are not among the
long-lived/

Mu of Wei was the son of a lord of ten thousand
chariots. For him to live in retirement among
crags and caves was more difficult than for a scholar
who had not worn the dress of office. Although he

1 Prince Mau was a son of the marquis of Wei, and had been
appointed to the appanage of A^ung-shan, corresponding to part
of the present Ting Aau in Pei ^ih-li.

2 A worthy officer or thinker of Wei. One is not sure that his
advice was altogether good.

l6O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXVIII.

had not attained to the T4o, he may be said to have
had some idea of it.

8. When Confucius was reduced to extreme dis-
tress between Khan, and 3hcii, for seven days he had
no cooked meat to eat, but only some soup of coarse
vegetables without any rice in it. His countenance
wore the appearance of great exhaustion, and yet he
kept playing on his lute and singing inside the house.
Yen Hui (was outside), selecting the vegetables,
while 3 ze "lft and 3 ze ~kung were talking together,
and said to him, 'The Master has twice been driven
from Lu ; he had to flee from Wei ; the tree (beneath
which he rested) was cut down in Sung ; he was re-
duced to extreme distress in Shang and A"du ; he is
held in a state of siege here between A^an and
3hi ; any one who kills him will be held guiltless ;
there is no prohibition against making him a prisoner.
And yet he keeps playing and singing, thrumming
his lute without ceasing. Can a superior man be
without the feeling of shame to such an extent as
this ? ' Yen Hui gave them no reply, but went in
and told (their words) to Confucius, who pushed
aside his lute, and said, ' Yft and 3hze are small men.
Call them here, and I will explain the thing to
them.'

When they came in, 3 ze '^ said, ' Your present
condition may be called one of extreme distress/
Confucius replied, ' What words are these ! When
the Superior man has free course with his principles,
that is what we call his success ; when such course
is denied, that is what we call his failure. Now
I hold in my embrace the principles of benevolence
and righteousness, and with them meet the evils of
a disordered age ; where is the proof of my being

PT. ill. SECT. vi. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE l6l

in extreme distress? Therefore looking inwards
and examining myself, I have no difficulties about
my principles; though I encounter such difficulties
(as the present), I do not lose my virtue. It is when
winter's cold is come, and the hoar-frost and snow
are falling, that we know the vegetative power of
the pine and cypress. This strait between Kh&s\
and 3h^i * s fortunate for me/ He then took back
his lute so that it emitted a twanging sound, and
began to play and sing. (At the same time) 3 ze '^
hurriedly, seized a shield, and began to dance, while
3ze-kung said, * I did not know (before) the height
of heaven nor the depth of the earth/

The ancients who had got the Tao were
happy when reduced to extremity, and happy when
having free course. Their happiness was indepen-
dent of both these conditions. The Tdo and its
characteristics! let them have these and distress
and success come to them as cold and heat, as wind
and rain in the natural order of things. Thus it was
that Hsu Yft found pleasure on the north of the
river Ying, and that the earl of Kung enjoyed him-
self on the top of mount (Kung) J .

9. Shun proposed to resign the throne to his
friend, the Northerner Wti-Mi 2 , who said, ' A
strange man you are, O sovereign ! You (first)
lived among the channeled fields, and then your

1 This takes us to the famous Kung-ho period (B c. 842-828),
but our author evidently follows the account of it found in the
'Bamboo Books;' see the prolegomena to the Shti King,

p. 154.

2 We found, in Book XXI (see vol. xxxix, p. 133), Wti-ai
as the name of Thien 3ze-fang. Here is the same name belonging
to a much earlier man, ' a man of the north.'

[40] M

1 62 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXVin.

place was in the palace of Yo. And not only so:
you now further wish to extend to me the stain of
your disgraceful doings. I am ashamed to see you/
And on this he threw himself into the abyss of
A^ing-lang 1 .

When Thang was about to attack Aleh, he took
counsel with Pien Sui, who said, * It is no business
of mine/ Thang then said, ' To whom should I
apply?' And the other said, 'I do not know/
Thang then took counsel with W6 Kwang, who gave
the same answer as Pien Sui ; and when asked to
whom he should apply, said in the same way, ' I do
not know/ ' Suppose/ Thang then said, ' I apply
to 1 Yin, what do you say about him ? ' The reply
was, ' He has a wonderful power in doing what is
disgraceful, and I know nothing more about him ! '

Thang thereupon took counsel with 1 Yin, attacked
Aleh, and overcame him, after which he proposed to-
resign the throne to Pien Sui, who declined it,
saying, ' When you were about to attack TTieh, and
sought counsel from me, you must have supposed
me to be prepared to be a robber. Now that you
have conquered A^ieh, and propose to resign the
throne to me, you must consider me to be greedy.
I have been born in an age of disorder, and a man
without principle twice comes, and tries to extend
to me the stain of his disgraceful proceedings !
I cannot bear to hear the repetition of his proposals/
With this he threw himself into the AHu 2 water
and died.

1 At the foot of a hill in the present department of Nan-yang,
Ho-nan.

2 The reading uncertain.

PT III. SECT. vi. THE WRITINGS OF WANG-3ZE. 163

Thang further made proffer of the throne to
W6 Kwang 1 , saying, * The wise man has planned it ;
the martial man has carried it through ; and the
benevolent man should occupy it : this was the
method of antiquity. Why should you, Sir, not
take the position ? ' Wft Kwang refused the proffer,
saying, 'To depose the sovereign is contrary to
right; to kill the people is contrary to benevo-
lence. When another has encountered the risks, if
I should accept the gain of his adventure, I should
violate my disinterestedness. I have heard it said,
" If it be not right for him to do so, one should not
accept the emolument ; in an age of unprincipled
(government), one should not put foot on the soil
(of the) country : " how much less should I accept
this position of honour ! I cannot bear to see you
any longer/ And with this he took a stone on his
back, and drowned himself in the Lu water 2 .

10. Formerly, at the rise of the K&M dynasty,
there were two brothers who lived in Kft-/ll 3 , and
were named Po-1 and Shfi-i. They spoke together
and said, ' We have heard that in the west there is
one who seems to rule according to the Right Way;
let us go and see/ (Accordingly) they came to the
south of (mount) Khi ; and when king Wft heard
of them, he sent (his brother) Shft Tan to see them,
and make a covenant with them, engaging that their
wealth should be second (only to that of the king),
and that their offices should be of the first rank,

1 Not elsewhere heard of, save in the same connexion.

2 In the west of L&o-tung.

8 A small principality, in the present Lwan-&u, department of
Yung-phing ^ih-lf.

M 2

164 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxvm.

and instructing him to bury the covenant with the
blood of the victim after they had smeared the cor-
ners of their mouths with it l . The brothers looked
at each other and laughed, saying, 'Ah! How
strange ! This is not what we call the Right Way.
Formerly, when Shan Nang had the kingdom, he
offered his sacrifices at the proper seasons and with
the utmost reverence, but without praying for any
blessing. Towards men he was leal-hearted and
sincere, doing his utmost in governing them, but
without seeking anything for himself. When it was
his pleasure to use administrative measures, he did
so ; and a sterner rule when he thought that would
be better. He did not by the ruin of others estab-
lish his own power; he did not exalt himself by
bringing others low; he did not, when the time
was opportune, seek his own profit. But now A^u,
seeing the disorder of Yin, has suddenly taken the
government into its hands; with the high it has
taken counsel, and with those below employed
bribes ; it relies on its troops to maintain the terror
of its might ; it makes covenants over victims to
prove its good faith ; it vaunts its proceedings to
please the masses ; it kills and attacks for the sake
of gain : this is simply overthrowing disorder and
changing it for tyranny. We have heard that the
officers of old, in an age of good government, did
not shrink from their duties, and in an age of
disorder did not recklessly seek to remain in office.
Now the kingdom is in a state of darkness; the
virtue of K&u is decayed. Than to join with it and

1 According to the usual forms in which a covenant was made
and established. The translation is free and diffuse.

PT. in. SECT. VI, THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 165

lay our persons in the dust, it is better for us to
abandon it, and maintain the purity of our conduct/
The two princes then went north to the hill of
Shdu-yang \ where they died of starvation. If men
such as they, in the matter of riches and honours,
can manage to avoid them, (let them do so) ; but
they must not depend on their lofty virtue to
pursue any perverse course, only gratifying their
own tendencies, and not doing service in their time :
this was the style of these two princes.

In the piesent department of Phfi-fau. Shan-hsi t

1 66 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. xxix.

BOOK XXIX.

PART III. SECTION VII.
Tdo ATih, or 'The Robber Alh 1 .'

i. Confucius was on terms of friendship with
sia Ki 2 , who had a brother named Tao K\h.
This T&o jKih had 9,000 followers, who marched
at their will through the kingdom, assailing and
oppressing the different princes. They dug through
walls and broke into houses; they drove away
people's cattle and horses ; they carried off people's
wives and daughters. In their greed to get, they
forgot the claims of kinship, and paid no regard
to their parents and brethren. They did not
sacrifice to their ancestors. Wherever they passed
through the country, in the larger states the people
guarded their city walls, and in the smaller the
people took to their strongholds. All were dis-
tressed by them.

Confucius spoke to Liti-hsia Ki, saying, * Fathers
should be able to lay down the law to their sons,

1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 157, 158.

2 Better known as Lifi-hsia Hui, under which designation he is
mentioned both m the Confucian Analects and in Mencius, but it
is an anachronism to say that Confucius was on terms of fiiendship
ttith him. He was a scion of the distinguished family of -an in
Lu, and was called -an Hwo and Aan Khm. We find, in the
3o A!Van, a son of his employed in an important expedition in
B.C. 634, so that he, probably, had passed away before Confucius
was born in B.C. 551, and must certainly have deceased before the
death of 3ze-lu (480), which is mentioned in the Book.

PT. III. SECT. vii. THE WRITINGS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 167

and elder to instruct their younger brothers. If
they are unable to do so, they do not fulfil the
duties of the relationships which they sustain. You,
Sir, are one of the most talented officers of the
age, and your younger brother is this Robber Kih.
He is a pest in the kingdom, and you are not able
to instruct him better ; I cannot but be ashamed of
you, and I beg to go for you and give him counsel/
Liti-hsia Ki replied, 'You say, Sir, that fathers
must be able to lay down the law to their sons,
and elder to instruct their younger brothers, but
if sons will not listen to the orders of their fathers,
nor the younger receive the lessons of their elder
brothers, though one may have your powers of per-
suasion, what is to be done ? And, moreover, Alh
is a man whose mind is like a gushing fountain, and
his will like a whirlwind ; he is strong enough to
resist all enemies, and clever enough to gloss over
his wrong-doings. If you agree with him, he is
glad ; if you oppose him, he is enraged ; and he
readily meets men with the language of abuse.
You must not go to him/

Confucius, however, did not attend to this advice.
With Yen Hui as his charioteer, and 3 ze ~k un g
seated on the right, he went to see Tao Alh, whom
he found with his followers halted on the south
of Thdi-shan, and mincing men's livers, which he
gave them to eat. Confucius alighted from his
carriage, and went forward, till he saw the usher,
to whom he said, ' I, Khung Khfa of LA, have
heard of the general's lofty righteousness/ bowing
twice respectfully to the man as he said so. The
usher went in and announced the visitor. But when
Alh heard of the arrival, he flew into a great

1 68 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXIX.

rage ; his eyes became like blazing stars, and his
hair rose up and touched his cap. * Is not this
fellow,' said he, ' Khung Ktiih, that artful hypocrite
of Lfi ? Tell him from me, "You invent speeches
and babble away, appealing without ground to (the
examples of) Wan and Wfi. The ornaments on
your cap are as many as the branches of a tree,
and your girdle is (a piece of skin) from the ribs
of a dead ox. The more you talk, the more non-
sense you utter. You get your food without (the
labour of) ploughing, and your clothes without (that
of) weaving. You wag your lips and make your
tongue a drum-stick. You arbitrarily decide what
is right and what is wrong, thereby leading astray
the princes throughout the kingdom, and making
its learned scholars not occupy their thoughts with
their proper business. You recklessly set up your
filial piety and fraternal duty, and curry favour with
the feudal princes, the wealthy and the noble. Your
offence is great ; your crime is very heavy. Take
yourself off home at once. If you do not do so,

I will take your liver, and add it to the provision
for to-day's food." '

But Confucius sent in another message, saying,

I 1 enjoy the good will of (your brother) Ki, and
I wish and hope to tread the ground beneath your
tent 1 / When the usher had communicated this
message, Tfio Alh said, ' Make him come forward/
On this Confucius hastened forwards. Declining
to take a mat, he drew hastily back, and boweii
twice to T&o Alh, who in a great rage stretched

1 That is, I wish to have an interview with you, to see and speak
to you face to face.

PT. III. SECT. vn. THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-3ZE. 169

his legs apart, laid his hand on his sword, and with
glaring eyes and a voice like the growl of a nursing
tigress, said, 'Come forwards, A7nti. If what you
say be in accordance with my mind, you shall live ;
but, if it be contrary to it, you shall die/ Confucius
replied, ' I have heard that everywhere under the
sky there are three (most excellent) qualities. To
be naturally tall and large, to be elegant and hand-
some without a peer, so that young and old, noble
and mean, are pleased to look upon him ; this is
the highest of those qualities. To comprehend both
heaven and earth in his wisdom, and to be able
to speak eloquently on all subjects; this is the
middle one of them. To be brave and courageous,
resolute and daring, gathering the multitudes round
him, and leading on his troops ; this is the lowest
of them. Whoever possesses one of these qualities
is fit to stand with his face to the south l , and style
himself a Prince. But you, General, unite in your-
self all the three. Your person is eight cubits and
two inches in height; there is a brightness about
your face and a light in your eyes ; your lips look
as if stained with vermilion ; your teeth are like
rows of precious shells; your voice is attuned to
the musical tubes, and yet you are named " The
Robber Jfih." 1 am ashamed of you, General, and
cannot approve of you. If you are inclined to listen
to me, I should like to go as your commissioner
to Wfi and Yueh in the south ; to Khi and Lti in
the north ; to Sung and Wei in the east ; and to
3in and Kh& in the west. I will get them to build
for you a great city several hundred 11 in size, to

To take the position of a ruler in his court.

270 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. IV.

his lips be glued together, and his teeth be firmly
pressed against one another. Let him not look at
anything with his eyes, nor listen to a single sound
with his ears. Let him with all his mind watch over
his inward feelings. Let him draw long breaths,
and gradually emit them, without a break, now
seeming to breathe, and now not. In this way any
excitement of the mind will naturally disappear, the
water from the kidneys will rise up, the saliva will be
produced in the mouth, and the real efficaciousness
becomes attached to the body. It is thus that one
acquires the way of prolonging life.

2. During the twelve hours of the day let one's
thoughts be constantly fixed on absolute Purity.
Where one thought (of a contrary kind) does not
arise, we have what we call Purity ; where nothing
(of a contrary kind) enters the Tower of Intelligence
( = the mind), we have what we call the Undefiled,
The body is the house of the breath ; the mind is
the lodging of the spirit. As the thoughts move,'
the spirit moves ; as the spirit moves, the breath is
distributed. As the thoughts rest, the spirit rests ;
when the spirit rests, the breath is collected.

The true powers of the five elements unite and
form the boat-like cup of jade, (after partaking of
which), the body seems to be full of delicious
harmony. This spreads like the unguent of the
chrismal rite on the head. Walking, resting, sitting,
sleeping, the man feels his body flexible as the
wind, and in his belly a sound like that of thunder.
His ears hear the songs of the Immortals, that
need no aid from any instrument ; vocal without
words, and resounding without the drum. The
spirit and the breath effect a union and the bloom of

APP. IV. CLASSIC OF THE DIRECTORY FOR A DAY. 27!

childhood returns. The man beholds scenes un-
folded within him ; Spirits of themselves speak to
him ; he sees the things of vacuity, and finds himself
dwelling with the Immortals. He makes the Great
Elixir, and his spirit goes out and in at its pleasure.
He has the longevity of heaven and earth, and the
brightness of the sun and moon. He has escaped
from the toils of life and death.

Accustomed to the phraseology of the Text all his life,
the commentator Li, as has been seen, did not think it
necessary to append here any notes of explanation. A
few such notes, however, will be welcome to an English
reader. 'The twelve hours of the day:' a Chinese hour
is equal to two of our hours, and their twelve to our
twenty-four. The twelve hours are named by the twelve
branch terms of the cycle.

1 The boat-like cup of jade ' seems to be a satisfactory
rendering of the Chinese characters to kwei in the Text,
which might be translated ' knife, and jade-symbol. 1 But
to, commonly meaning 'knife,' is in the Shih King
(I, v; VII, s) used of 'a small boat.' In the Khang-hsi
Thesaurus, under the phrase, we have the following quota-
tion, as if from Ko Hung's Biographies of Immortals :
1 KJian Hsi, a native of the territory of Wu, was studying
the Tao in Shu, when the master Lo sent a beautiful
young lady to him with a tray of gold and a cup of jade
filled with medicine, and the message, " This is the mys-
terious elixir ; he who drinks it will not die " And on this
he and his wife had each a to kwei.' See the account
in Ko Hung's work, which is much more diffuse.

In the mention of * the chrismal rite ' there is a reference
to what Dr Williams calls 'a kind of Buddhist baptism
or holy unction, by sprinkling, which confers goodness, 1
'administered to children, idols, &c. J (See under the
characters kwdn and ting.)

3. Do not allow any relaxation of your efforts.
During all the hours of the day strive always to be

272 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. IV.

pure and undefiled The spirit is the child of the
breath ; the breath is the mother of the spirit.

As a fowl embraces its eggs, do you preserve the
spirit and nourish the breath. Can you do this
without intermission ? Wonderful ! wonderful ! The
mystery becomes still deeper !

In the body there are seven precious organs,
which serve to enrich the state, to give rest to the
people, and to make the vital force of the system
full to overflowing. Hence we have the heart, the
kidneys, the breath, the blood, the brains, the semen,
and the marrow. These are the seven precious
organs. They are not dispersed when the body
returns (to the dust). Refined by the use of the
Great Medicine, the myriad spirits all ascend among
the Immortals.

If we were sure that we had exactly hit the meaning and
spirit of every part of this paragraph, it would hardly be
worth while to give more space to its illustration.

A sufficient number of the best of the Treatises of the later
Tioism have been placed before the reader to show him
how different they are from the writings of Lao and A^wang,
and how inferior to them. It might seem as if A"wang-$ze,
when he ceased to write, had broken the staff of Taoism
and buried it many fathoms in the earth. We can hardly
wonder that Confucianists, such as ATu Hsi, should pro-
nounce, 'What the sect of Tao chiefly attend to is, the
preservation of the breath of life;' and that Buddhists,
such as Lid Mi, should say of it, * Long life being attained,
its goal is reached/

APPENDIX V.

Analyses by Lin Hsl-/ung of several of the
Books of

BOOK I.

The Hsido-yio in the title of this Book denotes the
appearance of perfect ease and satisfaction. The Yu,
which conveys the idea of wandering or rambling about,
is to be understood of the enjoyment of the mind. The
three characters describe the chief characteristic of our
' Old A'wang's ' life, and therefore he placed the Book at
the beginning of his more finished compositions or essays.

But when one wishes to enjoy himself in the fullest and
freest way, he must first have before him a view like that
of the wide sea or of the expanse of the air, in order that
his mind may be free from all restraint, and from the
entanglements of the world, and that it may respond in
the fitting way to everything coming before it : it is only
what is Great that can enter into this enjoyment.
Throughout the whole Book, the word Great has a
significant force.

In paragraph i we are presented with the illustration
of the phang. Long was the journey which it would
undertake, when it contemplated removing to the South.
That it required a wind of 90,000 It to support it, and even
then only rested after a flight of six months, was owing to
its own Great size, and also because the Southern Ocean
was not to be easily reached by a single effort.

What is said, in paragraph 2, about men, when going
anywhere, proportioning the provisions which they take
[40] T

274 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. V.

with them to the length of the journey has the same
meaning. How should such creatures as the cicada and
the little dove be able to know this ? Knowledge is great
or small, because the years of the parties are many or
few : so it is that one is inferior to another. Have they
not heard of the ming-ling and tci-^un, which make
their spring and autumn for themselves? And so does the
phang, as we may understand. Its not resting till the
end of six months is really not a long time to it. The
case ofPhang3uis not worth being taken into account.

This description of the greatness of the phang is not
any fabrication of our author's own, nor any statement
peculiar to the Kh\ Hsieh The same things are told in
the * Questions of Thang to A'i/ as in paragraph 3.

As to the long journey of the phang and the marsh-
quail's laughing at it, that is not different from what the
other two little creatures said above ; arising simply from
the difference between the great and the small. And what
difference is there between this and the case of those who
enjoy themselves for a season in the world ? Yung-jze of
Sung is introduced (and immediately dismissed), as not
having planted himself in the right position, and not being
Great. Then Lieh-jze is brought forward, and dismissed
as not being Great, because he had something to wait for.
It is only he who rides on the twofold primal ether of the
Yin and Yang, driving along with the six elements through
all their changes as they wax and wane, and enjoying him-
self at the gate of death, that can be pronounced Great.
This is what is called the Perfect Man; the Spirit-like
Man ; and the Sage Man.

In illustration of this, as instances of the Great Man, we
have, in paragraph 4, Hsu Yd, regardless of the name ; the
personage on the hill of Kft-shih, in paragraph 5, with no
thought of the services he could perform ; and Yao with
his deep-sunk eyes, in paragraph 6, no longer thinking
much of his throne, and regardless of himself. All these
characteristics could be used, and made their possessor
great ; but let not this lead to a suspicion of greatness as

BK. II. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF JHVANG-SZE. 275

incompatible with usefulness. As a caution against this,
we have, in paragraph 7, the salve to keep the hands from
being chapped ; a Great thing when used properly, but of
little value when not so used. Let those who exercise their
minds look at this : should they not seek to be useful,
and so become Great ? We have also the weasel and the
yak, the one of which gets into trouble by its being of use,
while the other escapes harm by its being of no use. Let
those who have work to do in the world look at this. The
Great calabash and the Great tree are, each of them, a
phang : why may we not abandon ourselves to our
natural feeling of enjoyment in connexion with them?
Let men be satisfied with their Greatness and seek for
nothing more.

As to the style of the Book, the sudden statement and
the sudden proof; the sudden illustration and the sudden
reasoning ; the decision, made to appear as no decision ;
the connexion, now represented as no connexion ; the
repetition, turning out to be no repetition : these features
come and go on the paragraphs, like the clouds in the
open firmament, changing every moment and delightful
to behold.

Lft Fang-hu describes it well : ' The guiding thread in
the unspun floss ; the snake sleeping in the grass/

BOOK II.

In writings intended to throw light on the T&o we find
many different views, affirmations on one side and denials
on the other. These may be called Controversies, and
the reason why they are not adjusted is that every one will
hold fast to his own view. But every peculiar view arises
from the holder's knowledge. Such knowledge, however,
tends to the injury of his mind, and serves no purpose,
good or bad, in illustrating the nature of the To; it
only increases the confusion of controversy. Hence when
we wish to adjust controversies, we must use our knowledge
well ; and to use our knowledge well, we must stop at the
point beyond which it does not extend.

T 2

276 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. V.

In this whole Book knowing and not knowing is the
thread that runs through it, (and binds its parts together).
The expressions about men's being 'in darkness/ in
paragraph 2, and the Tdo's being c obscure/ in paragraph
3, indicate the want of knowledge ; those, also in paragraph
3, about ' the light of the mind/ and ' throwing that light
on a subject/ indicate the good use of knowledge; those, in
paragraph 5, about 'the scintillations of light from the
midst of confusion and perplexity/ and ' the store of light/
in paragraph 7, indicate the stopping at the point to which
our knowledge does not extend. And what is to be done
when we stop at this point ? Nothing more can be done ;
we have simply, as it is said in paragraph 6, to stop here.

When Nan-kwo &e-k/i\ says, in paragraph I, I had
lost myself/ he fully expresses the subject-matter of the
Book. If we think that the affirmations and denials made
by men's minds are fictions, made out from nothing to be
something, that is like the myriad different sounds of the
wind, suddenly appearing in their innumerable variations.
But who is it that produces all these sounds ? As is said
in paragraph 2, they are ' the sounds of Earth which are
really the notes of Heaven ' The minds of men speak from
their possession of knowledge. However great or small
their words may be, they are all of their own making A
discourse under a thousand Heads with a myriad Par-
ticulars, suddenly arising and as suddenly stopping, may
suggest the idea of what we call ' a True Ruler/ But the
idea is vague, and though our knowledge does not reach to
such a subject, men toil their intelligence to the end of
their lives, never stopping till both mind and body are
exhausted. What is the reason of this? It is because
they have their c minds completely made up (par. 3).'

Now if words were like the chirpings of very young birds
that come upon the ear, there would be no difference
between them as regards truth or falsehood, right or wrong ;
but there is some obscuring influence, through which the
different views of the Literati and Mohists are produced,
with their confusion and uncertainty. All this is because

BK. II. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF WANG-3ZE. 277

the parties do not use their knowledge well. In their
controversies each looks at the other's view only from his
own standpoint, and throwing on the subject from that the
light of Heaven, thus emptily replying to one another
without end. And is this purposely intended to make a
violent end of their disputations? (It is not so), for the
T&o is originally one. High and low, beautiful and ugly,
ordinary and strange, success and overthrow, have nothing
to do with it. The intelligent know this ; those who weary
their minds in trying to bring about a unity do not know it.
At this point the sages throw on the subject the light
of Heaven, also wishing to rest in Heaven, and so they
come to a natural union : this is how they use their know-
ledge well.

And what are we to consider the highest reach of know-
ledge (see par. 5) ? The ancients thought it necessary to
place this in the time before anything began to be A
second class would have it that there had (always) been
(some) things ; and a third class held that between those
things (and men) there had been a relativity. Thus it was
that gradually there came differences of opinion, in affirma-
tions and denials ; and when these once arose, there could
not but be the experiences of success and failure.

But any one-sidedness in controversy is not sufficient to
be accounted a proof of success or of failure Not only is
the Tao radically one ; but those who employ it, however
they may seem to differ, will be found to be substantially
one and the same. When the sages, in the midst of slippery
confusion and doubtful perplexity, yet find the clearness of
conviction, is it not because they place the controversies
that we speak of among the things that are not to be used ?
But if there were no affirmations and denials, there would
be no words. And let me think here. Suppose there
were no words of controversy, we must not infer from that
that there were no words at all. Is this word correct?
Then if I also employ it, I form one class with all who do
so ? Is it not correct ? Then if I also deny it, I form
another class with those who do the same. Formerly,

278 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. V.

when speaking of men's words, I said that they should
change places, and look at things from the different stand-
points of each other ; so with reference to my own words,
my holding my ' Yea/ does not interfere with my changing
my place, and taking my position with those who say
1 Nay ' in the case. If indeed there be no words of affirma-
tion and denial, what words will there be? We must go
back to the beginning when there were no words. We
must go back still farther, to the vacuity before the
beginning when there were no words. If we try to go
back even farther still, then great and small, long life and
short life, heaven and earth and all things, fade away,
blending together in the One. But that ONE is also a
word In this way we go on without end, wishing to make
an end of controversy, and instead of doing that, our
endeavour only serves to increase it. The better plan is
to stop, as is proposed in a former paragraph, to stop at
this point. Even this word about having no controversy
may be spared.

The sage, by avoiding discussion, reasoning, and the
drawing of distinctions, while he availed himself of words,
yet retained the advantage of eschewing words, and was
also afraid of calling the demarcations (of propositions) by
their eight qualities (see par. 7). Still, however, the trace
of the use of words remained with him. It is not so
in the case of the Great Tao and the Great Argument.
The Tao (which is displayed) is not the Tao ; the Argu-
ment (which is most subtle) does not reach the point ; the
degree of Non-action is very great , but notwithstanding it
is difficult to speak of what is entirely empty of purpose.
The way by which the knowledge of the ancients reached
the highest point was their stopping when their knowledge
extended no farther. If they could know what they did
not know, it was by means of the Heavenly Treasure-house ;
it was thus they could take their place in the centre of the
circle, to which all lines converged, and from which all
questions could be answered. If they added what they did
know to the sum of what they did not know, they then

BK. II. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 279

possessed the Store of Light ; and it was thus that they
made provision for the scintillations of slippery doubt.

To the same effect was what Shun told Yao (end of
par. 7). As to the referring what is advantageous and
what is hurtful, and the mysteries of life and death, to the
sphere of the unknown, that is set forth in the conver-
sation between Nieh A7/ueh and Wang f (par. 8).

As to how it is that rulers and grooms, other men and
one's self, do not know each other, that is seen in the
conversation between K/iu 3hiao-jze and -Oang-wfi $ze.

As to what is said about the substance and shadow
waiting on each to make their manifestations, and not
knowing how they were brought about, and about the
dreamer and the man awake doubting about each other,
and not knowing how to distinguish between them, we
have knowledge stopping at the point to which it does
not extend, and gradually entering into the region of
transformation.

Is there anything still remaining to be done for the
adjustment of controversy ? One idea grows up out of
another in the Book, and one expression gives rise to
another apparently quite different. There is a mutual
connexion and reference between its parts. Suddenly the
style is difficult as the slope of Yang-Mang, and vanishes
like the path of a bird , suddenly it looks like so many
steep cliffs and successive precipices. When ordinary
scholars see this and cannot trace the connexion of
thought, if they put it on one side, and did not venture to
say anything about it, they might be forgiven. But when
they dare to follow their prejudices, and to append their
licentious explanations, breaking up the connexion of
thought, and bringing down to the dust this' wonderful
composition, the admiration of thousands of years ; ah !
when the old jfifwang took his pencil in hand, and proceeded
to write down his thoughts, why should we be surprised
that such men as these cannot easily understand him ?

28O THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. v.

BOOK VI.

'The Great and most Honoured Master' is the Tao.
It appears separately in the Heavenly and Human elements
(of our constitution), and exists alone and entire in what is
beyond death and life ; being, as we say, that which nothing
can be without. To describe it as that which stands out
superior and alone, we use for it the character Koh (_^t)
(par. 5); to describe it as abiding, we call it the True;
to describe it as it vanishes from sight, we apply to it the
names of Purity, Heaven, and Unity (par. 12)

When men value it, it is possible to get possession of it.
But he who wishes to get it must, with the knowledge
which he has attained to, proceed to nourish what that
knowledge is still ignorant of. When both of these are
(as it were) forgotten, and he comes under the transforma-
tion of the Tdo, he enters into the region in which there
is neither life nor death ; to the Human element (in him)
he has added the Heavenly.

Now what knowledge does not know is "the time of
birth and death, and what it does know is what comes
after birth and precedes death. It would seem as if this
could be nourished by the exercise of thought ; but if we do
this after birth and before death, we must wait for the time
of birth and death to verify it. If we try to do so before
that time, then the circumstances of the Human and the
Heavenly have not yet become subject to their Ruler. It
is this which makes the knowledge difficult, and it is only
the True Man with the True Knowledge who has no
anxiety about it.

In the position which the True man occupies, he has his
adversities and prosperities, his successes and defeats, his
gains and his losses, his seasons of security and of unrest,
all the changes of his circumstances ; but his mind forgets
them all, and this result is due to his possession of both the
Knowledge and the T&o.

As to his bodily conditions, he has his sleeping and

BK, vi. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 28 1

awaking, his eating and resting, his constant experiences ;
but his mind (also) forgets them all. For the springs of
action which move to the touch of Heaven, and the move-
ments of desire are indeed different in men; but when
we advance and examine the proper home of the mind, we
find no difference between its place and nature at the time
of birth and of death, and no complication in these after
birth and before death . so it is that the Mind, the Tao,
the Heavenly, and the Human are simply One. Is not the
unconsciousness of the mind the way in which the True
man exercises his knowledge and nourishes it? Carrying
out this unconsciousness, from the mind to the body and
from the body to the world, he comprehends the character
of the time and the requirements of everything, without
any further qualification. Hence, while the mind has not
acquired this oblivion, the great work of life always suffers
from some defect of the mind, and is not fit to be com-
mended But let the mind be able to exercise this quality,
and it can be carried out with great and successful merit,
and its admirable service be completed This is the mind
of the True man, never exercised one-sidedly in the world,
and gaming no one-sided victory either Heavenward or
Man ward.

Given the True Man with the True Knowledge like
this, the nature of death and life may begin to be fully
described. Death and life are like the night and the dawn ;
is there any power that can command them? Men
cannot preside over them. This is what knowledge does
not extend to ; but within the sphere of knowledge, there
is that which is dearer than a Father (par. 5), and more to
be honoured than a Ruler ; the Eminent, the True, and that
moreover over which Heaven cannot preside. Valuable
therefore is the nourishing of this Knowledge; and what
other art in nourishing it is there but the unconsciousness of
which we speak ? Why do we say so ? The body is born,
grows old and dies. This is the common lot. However
skilful one may be in hiding it away, it is sure to dis-
appear. Men know that the body is not easily got, but

282 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. v.

they do not know that what might seem like man's body
never comes to an end. Being hidden away in a place
from which there is no escape for anything, it does not
disappear. This takes place after birth and before death,
and may be verified at the times of birth and death ; but
how much better it is to consider Heaven good, old age
good, the beginning good and the end good, than vainly to
think that the nourishing of knowledge is making the body
good ! The doing this is what is called the Tao. And the
sage enjoys himself in this; not only because the Tao itself
does not disappear, but also because of all who have got it
not a single one has ever passed away from notice.

But it is not easy to describe the getting of the Tdo. In
the case about which Nu Yu told Nan-po 3zc-khwei (par. 8) ;
the talents of a sage and the Tao of a sage came together
in the study of it , three, seven, and nine days are mentioned
as the time of the several degrees of attainment ; the learner
went on from banishing all worldly matters from his mind
as foreign to himself till he came to the utter disregard of
time In this way was he led from what was external, and
brought inwards to himself; then again from the idea of the
Tao's being a thing, it was exhibited as Tranquillity amid
all Disturbances, and he was carried out of himself till he
understood that neither death nor life is more than a
phenomenon. The narrator had learned all this from writ-
ings and from Lo-sung, searching them, and ever more the
more remote they were. Truly great is the difficulty of
getting the T^o !

And yet it need not be difficult. It was not so with
3ze-yu (par. 9), in whose words about one arm being
transformed into a fowl, and the other into a cross-bow,
we see its result, as also in what he said about his rump-
bone being transformed into a wheel, his spirit into a horse,
and one loosing the cord by which his life is suspended.

(Again) we have a similar accordance (with the Tao) in
3ze-li's question to $ze-\a,i (P ar - IO )j about his being made
the liver of a rat or the arm of an insect, with the latter's
reply and his remark about the furnace of a founder.

BK.Vi. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 283

These were men who had got the To; as also were
3ze-fan and K/im K&ng (par. n), men after the Maker's
mind, and who enjoyed themselves, disporting in the one
vital ether of heaven and earth.

The same may be said of Mang-sun 3hi (par. 12). If
he had undergone a transformation, he would wait for the
future transformation of which he did know. So it was
that he obtained the Tdo. He and all the others were
successful through the use of their mental unconsciousness ;
and they who pursue this method, must have the idea of
\-r 3ze, who wished to have his branding effaced, and his
dismemberment removed by hearing the substance of the
Tao (par. 13).

Parties who have not lost the consciousness of their
minds and wish to do so must become like Yen Hui
(par. 14), who separated the connexion between his body
and mind, and put away his knowledge, till he became one
with the Great Pervader.

Of such as have lost (in part) the consciousness of their
minds and wish to do so entirely, we have an instance
in 3 Z( >sang (par. 15), thinking of Heaven and Earth and
of his parents as ignorant of his (miserable) condition, and
then ascribing it to Destiny. He exhibited the highest
obliviousness : was he not, with the knowledge which
he possessed, nourishing that of which he was ignorant ?
Such were the True Men, and such was the True Know-
ledge.

In this Book are to be found the roots of the ideas
in the other six Books of this Part. In this they all unite.
It exhibits the origin of all life, sets forth the reality of all
cultivation, and shows the springs of all Making and Trans-
formation, throwing open the door for the Immortals and
Buddhas. Here is the wonderful Elixir produced by the
pestle of Jade, the touch of which by a finger produces the
feathers of Transformation. As to its style, a vast lake of
innumerous wavelets, the mingling of a hundred sparkling
eddies, a collection of the oldest achievements in composi-
tion, a granary filled with all woods ; it is only in the

284 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. V.

power of those who admire the leopard's spots to appre-
ciate it !

BOOK IX.

Governing the world is like governing horses. There is
the government, but the only effect of it is injury. Po-lao's
management of horses (par. i) in a way contrary to their
true nature was in no respect different from the way of
the (first) potter and the (first) carpenter in dealing with
their clay and wood in opposition to the nature of those
substances, yet the world praises them all because of their
skill, not knowing wherein the good government of the
world consists

Now the skilful governors of the world simply caused
the people to fulfil the conditions of their regular nature
(par. 2). It was their gifts which they possessed in common,
and their Heaven-inspired instincts which constituted the
(Early) age of Perfect Virtue. When the sages fashioned
their benevolence, righteousness, ceremonies, and music,
and the people then began to lose their perfect virtue, it
was not that they had themselves become different. For
benevolence, righteousness, ceremonies, and music, are not
endowments forming a part of their regular nature ; they
are practised only after men have laid aside the Tao and
its characteristics, and abandoned the guidance of their
nature and its feelings This is what we say that the
mechanic does when he hacks and cuts the raw materials
to form his vessels. Why should we doubt that it was by
Po-lao's dealing with horses that they became wise enough
to play the part of thieves (par. 3) ; and that it was by
the sages' government of the people that their ability came
to be devoted to the pursuit of gain ? The error of the
sages in this cannot be denied.

From beginning to end this Book is occupied with one
idea. The great point in it grew out of the statement in
paragraph 3 of the previous Book, that 'all men are
furnished with certain regular principles,' and it is the
easiest to construe of all ATwang-jze's compositions ; but

BK. XI. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF ffWANG-3ZE. 285

the general style and illustrations are full of sparkling
vigour. Some have thought that, where the ideas are so
few, there is a waste of words about them, and they doubt
therefore that the Book was written by some one imitating
TTwang-jze; but I apprehend no other hand could have
shown such a mastery of his style.

BOOK XL

That the world is not well governed is because there are
those who try to govern it. When they try to govern it,
they cannot but be ' doing* (to that end). Unable to keep
from this * doing,' they cause the world to be happy or to
be miserable, both of which things the instincts of man's
nature refuse to accept. Although the arts of governing
are many, they only cause and increase disorder. Why so ?
Because they interfere with men's minds.

Now when men are made to be miserable or happy,
they come to have great joy or great dissatisfaction. The
condition ministers to the expansive or the opposite element
(in nature), and the four seasons, the cold and the heat, all
lose their regularity. This causes men everywhere in a
contentious spirit to indulge their nature to excess, bringing
about a change of its attributes, and originating the practice
of good and evil. All unite in bringing this state about ;
and in the end all receive its consequences. Hence such
men as A"ih the robber, 3^ng Shan, and Shih $htii ought
not to be found in a well-governed age. But those who
governed the world went on to distinguish between the
good and the bad, and occupied themselves with rewarding
and punishing. When they wished men to rest in the
requirements of their nature, was it not difficult for them
to realise the wish ?

And how much more was it so when they went on in
addition to insist on acute hearing and clear vision, on
benevolence, righteousness, ceremonies, music, sageness,
and knowledge (par. 2) ! They did not know that these
eight things were certainly of no use to the world, but
injurious to it. Led astray by them, and not perceiving

286 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. V.

this, they continued to practise them, and to do this every
day more and more. This is what we see indeed in the
ordinary men of the world, but not what we should have
expected from superior men. The Superior man does
nothing, and rests in the instincts of his nature. He values
and loves his own person, which fits him to be entrusted
with the charge of the world, and thereupon we see things
becoming transformed of themselves. Yes, we see indeed
that men's minds are not to be interfered with (par. 3).

Let me try to attest this from (the example of) the
ancient Tis and Kings. These in their interference with
the minds of men, began with their inculcation of benevo-
lence and righteousness, proceeded to their distinctions of
what was right and wrong, and ended with their punish-
ments and penalties. Their government of the world ended
with the disordering of it. And the result can be seen, the
Literati and the Mohists still thinking how they can remedy
them.

But let us ask who it really was that brought things to
this pass The answer is supplied to us in ^ the words of
L&o Tan (see T. T. K., ch. 19), * Abolish sageness and cast
away wisdom, and the world will be brought to a state of
good order.' But the issue does not commence with the
state of the world. When Kwang .Oang-jze replied to
Hwang-Ti's questions, he said (par. 4), ' Watch over your
body, and increase the vigour of things. Maintain the
unity, and dwell in the harmony.' What he said, about
the rain descending before the clouds collected, about the
trees shedding their leaves before they were yellow, about
the light (of the sun and moon) hastening to extinction,
about Hwang-Ti's mind being that of a flatterer of which
he would make no account, and about how he should do
nothing but rest in the instincts of his nature, and not
interfere with the minds of men : all these are expressions
bearing on the value and love which should be given to the
body. And the lesson in his words does not end with the
watching over the body.

There are the words addressed by Hung Mung to Yun

BK. XI. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 287

A^iang, * Nourish in your mind a great agreement (with the
primal ether). (Things) return to their root, and do not
know (that they are doing so). As to what you say, that
" the mysterious operations of Heaven are not accomplished,
that the birds all sing at night, that vegetation withers
under calamity, and that insects are all overtaken by
disaster. about all these things there is no occasion for
anxiety." While you do nothing, rest in the promptings of
your human nature, and do not interfere with the minds
of men ; such is the genial influence that attracts and
gatheis all things round itself (par. 2).'

But the Superior man's letting the world have its own
course in this generous way; this is what the ordinary
men of the world cannot fathom. When such men speak
about governing, they examine carefully between others
and themselves, and are very earnest to distinguish between
differing and agreeing. Their only quest is to find how
they may overcome others, and the end is that they are
always overcome by others. They do not know that in
order to reduce others to the level of things, there must
be those who cannot be reduced by others to that level.
Those are said to be the sole possessors of the power
(par. 6).

The teaching of the Great man, however, is not of this
nature. He responds to others according to their qualities,
without any selfish purpose. Although he is the sole pos-
sessor of the power, that power comes to be nothing in his
view. Between having and not having there is to him no
difference in the use. Doing nothing, and yet sometimes
obliged to act, he forthwith does so ; when he acts, yet no
one sees that he has acted, and it is the same as if he did not
act. So it is according to the Tao; but therein there are
both the Heavenly and the Human elements. In accord-
ance with this there are (in actual government) the Lord
and the Minister (par. 7) When one discerns this, and
knows which element is to be preferred, convinced that it
is doing nothing which is valuable, what difficulty has he
in governing the world ?

288 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. v.

The thread of connexion running through this Book is
' Doing Nothing.' Whether it speaks of the promptings of
the nature or of the minds of men, it shows how in regard
to both there must be this 'doing nothing/ In the end,
with much repetition it distinguishes and discusses, showing
that what doing there may be in doing nothing need not
trouble us, and is not the same as the ' Extinction ' of the
Buddhists. There is not much difference between the
teaching of this Book, and what we read in the Confucian
Analects, 'He did nothing and yet governed efficiently
(Bk. XV, ch. ivy This is an instance of the light thrown
by our 'old -/Twang' on the ^ing, and shows how an under-
standing may take place between him and our Literati.

In the style there are so many changes and transform-
ations, so many pauses and rests as in music, conflicting
discussions, and subtle disquisitions, the pencil's point now
hidden in srnoke and now among the clouds, the author's
mind teeming with his creations, that no one who has not
made himself familiar with a myriad volumes should pre-
sume to look and pronounce on this Book.

BOOK XX.

The afflictions of men in the world are great, because
their attainments in the Tao and Its Attributes are shallow.
The Tdo with Its Attributes is the Author of all things.
To follow It in Its transformings according to the time
is not like occupying one's self with the qualities of things,
and with the practice and teaching of the human relations,
which only serve to bring on disaster and blame. He who
seeks his enjoyment in It, however, must begin by emptying
himself. Hence we have, ' Rip your skin from your body,
cleanse your heart, and put away your desires (par. 2) ; '
then afterwards 'you can enjoy yourself in the land of
Great Vacuity.' In this way one attains to the status
represented by coming across 'an empty vessel* and
escapes 'the evils which the close-furred fox and the
elegantly-spotted leopard ' are preparing for themselves.

These are the ideas in the paragraph about 1-lido of

BK. xx. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 289

Shih-nan which may help to illustrate, and receive illus-
tration from, what AVang-jze says (par. i) that 'he would
prefer to be in a position between being fit to be useful and
wanting that fitness/

In the case of Pei-kung She collecting taxes for the
making of a peal of bells, we have only the exercise of
a small art (par. 3). He could, however, put away all
thought of self, and act as the time required. He was
e as a child who has no knowledge/ so slow was he and
hesitating in this respect ; there escorting those who went,
here welcoming those who came. But from all this we
may know how far he had advanced (in the knowledge of
the Tao).

But on consideration I think it was only Confucius of
whom this could be spoken. Did not he receive a great
share of the world's afflictions (par. 4) ? When Th&i-kung
Z&n spoke to him of ' putting away the ideas of merit and
fame, and placing himself on the level of the masses of
men/ he forthwith put away the idea of himself and com-
plied with the requirements of the time. This was the art
by which he enjoyed himself in the Tao and Its attributes,
and escaped the troubles of the world.

He could put away the idea of self in responding to the
world, but he could not do so in determining his associa-
tions. In consequence of this, more distant acquaintances
did not come to lay further afflictions on him, and his
nearer friends perhaps came to cast him off because of those
afflictions. What was he to do in these circumstances ?

If one be able to comply with the requirements of the
time in his relations with men, but cannot do so in his
relations to Heaven, then in the world he will indeed do
nothing to others contrary to what is right, but he will
himself receive treatment contrary to it ; and what is to
be done in such a case? 3 z e-sang Hti saw the difficulty
here and provided for it What he said about 'a union
of Heaven's appointment/ and about 'the intercourse of
superior men being tasteless as water/ shows how well
he knew the old lessons about a connexion growing out
[40] U

2QO THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. V.

of external circumstances and one founded in inward
feeling. When one has divested himself of the idea of
self, there will not again be such an experience as that
of Confucius, when his intimate associates were removed
from him more and more, and his followers and friends
were more and more dispersed.

And Confucius himself spoke of such a case. What he
said about its being 'easy not to receive (as evils) the
inflictions of Heaven,' and ' difficult not to receive as benefits
the favours of men (par. 7),' shows how truly he perceived
the connexion between the Heavenly and the Human (in
man's constitution), and between ' the beginning and end '
of experiences. When one acts entirely according to the
requirements of the time, the more he enlarges himself
the greater he becomes, and the more he loves himself the
more sorrow he incurs. If he do not do so, then we have
the case of him who in the prospect of gain forgets the
true instinct of his preservation, as shown in the strange
bird of the park of Tiao-ling (par. 8), and the case of the
Beauty of the lodging-house, who by her attempts to show
off her superiority made herself contemned. How could
such parties so represented occupy themselves with the Tao
and Its attributes so as to escape the calamities of life ?

This Book sets forth the principles which contribute to
the preservation of the body, and keeping harm far off, and
may supplement what still needed to be said on this subject
in Book IV. The Tao and Its attributes occupy the
principal place in it ; the emptying of Self, and conforming
to the time, are things required by them. The exquisite
reasonings and deep meaning of the Book supply excellent
rules for getting through the world. Only the sixth para-
graph is despicable and unworthy of its place. It is
evidently a forgery, and I cannot but blame Kwo 3ze-hsuan
for allowing it to remain as the production of ATwang-jze.

BOOK XXII.

The T&o made Its appearance before Heaven and Earth.
It made things what they are and was Itself no THING,

BK. XXII. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 2QI

being what is called their Root and Origin (par. a). If we
consider It something existing, It was not such ; if we
consider It as something non-existing, that does not fully
express the idea of it The ' I know it (of Hwang-Ti) ' is
an addition of ' Knowledge' to the idea of it, and (his)
' I will tell you * is the addition of a description of it (par. i).
Therefore he who would embody the Tao can only employ
the names of c Do Nothing ' and { Returning to the Root/
and then go forward to the region of the Unknown and the
Indescribable.

Now the Tao originally was a Unity. The collection of
the breath, constituting life, and its dispersion, which we
call death, proceed naturally. The denominations of the
former as ' spirit-like and wonderful ' and of the latter as
c foetor and putridity ' are the work of man. But those of
6 Non-action ' and f Returning to the Root ' are intended to
do honour to the Unity. Knowledge, Heedless Bluster,
and Hwang-Ti, all perceived this, but they also went on to
reason about it, showing how not to know is better than to
know, and not to talk better than to talk.

As it is said in par. 2, 'the beautiful operations of
Heaven and Earth, and the distinctive constitutions of all
things,' from the oldest time to the present day, go on and
continue without any difference. But who is it that makes
them to be what they are ? And what expression of doubt
or speculation on the point has ever been heard from them ?
It is plain that the doctrine of the Tao originated with
man.

When Phci-i (par. 3) told Nieh A7/ueh, c Keep your body
as it should be ; look only at the One thing ; call in your
knowledge ; make your measures uniform . ' all this was
saying to him that we arc to do nothing, and turn to (the
Tao as) our Root. When he further says to him, 'You
should have the simple look of a new-born calf; and not
ask about the cause of your being what you are : ' this is
in effect saying that knowledge is m not knowing, and
that speech does not require the use of words.

If you suddenly (like Shun in par. 4) think that the Tdo

U 2

2Q2 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. V.

is yours to hold, not only do you not know what the Tao
is, but you do not know yourself. How is this ? You are
but a thing in the Tao. If your life came to you without
its being produced by the T&o, you would yourself be a
life-producer. But whether one lives to old age or dies
prematurely he comes equally to an end. Your life
properly was not from yourself, nor is your death your
own act. You did not resist (the coming of your life) ; you
do not keep it (against the coming of death); you are
about to return to your original source. This simply is
what is meant by the Sage's c Do nothing, and return to
your Root/ As to * the bodily frame coming from incor-
poreity and its returning to the same (par. 5),' that certainly
is a subject beyond the reach of our seeing and hearing ;
and how can any one say that the Tao is his to hold ?

What Lao-jze (says to Confucius in par. 5), and what
A^ang tells Shun (in par. 4), have not two meanings ; but
notwithstanding, it should not be said that the Tio is not
to be found anywhere (par. 6). Speaking broadly, we may
say that its presence is to be seen in an ant, a stalk of
panic grass, an earthenware tile, and in excrement. Seek-
ing for it in what is more delicate and recondite, let us
take the ideas of fulness and emptiness, of withering and
decay, of beginning and end, of accumulation and dispersion.
These are all ideas, and not the names of things ; and (the
Tao) which makes things what they are has not the limit
which belongs to things. No wonder that Tung-kwo $ze
should have been so perplexed as he was !

Those who think that the Tio has no positive existence
(par. 7), speak of it as c The Mysterious and Obscure/ and
then it would seem to be equivalent to the name * Mystery/
which cannot be rightly applied to it. And those who
think that it has a positive existence speak of it as being
considered now noble and now mean, now bound and
compressed, now dispersed and diffused, and what is One
is divided into the noble and the mean, the compressed
and the dispersed ; a mode of dealing with it, of which
the Tdo will not admit. Better is it to say with No-

BK. XXII. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 293

beginning, c There should be no asking about the Tao ; any
question about it should not be replied to. 1 The opposite
of this would imply a knowledge of what is not known,
and the use of words which should not be spoken. In
accordance with this, when Star-light puts his question to
Non-entity, and it is added, * To conceive the ideas of
Existence and Non-existence is not so difficult as to con-
ceive of a Non-existing non-existence, 5 this is an advance
on speaking of (the Tao) as Non-existent ; and when the
forger of Swords says to the Minister of War that by long
practice he came to the exercise of his art as if he took no
thought about it (par. 9), this is an advance on speaking of
(the Tao) as existent.

The substance of what we know is to this effect :
The Tao was produced before heaven and earth. It
made things what they are and is not itself a thing. It
cannot be considered as of ancient origin or of recent,
standing as it does in no relation to time. It had no
beginning and will have no end. Life and death, death
and life equally proceed from It. To speak of It as
existing or as non-existing is a one-sided presentation of
It. Those who have embodied It, amid all external changes,
do not change internally. They welcome and meet all men
and things, and none can do them any injury (par. u).
Whatever they do not know and are unequal to, they
simply let alone. This is the meaning of * Doing nothing,
and turning in everything to the Root/ Where the want
of knowledge and of language is the most complete, Zan
Kh\& (par. 10) and Yen-jze (par. n) apply to JTung-ni for
his judgment in the case, and the consideration of it comes
to an end.

In this Book the mysteries of the T do are brought to
light; one slight turn of expression after another reveals
their successive depths, beyond the reach of Reasoning.
Lfi Fang-hft says, ' Master this Book, and the MahdyAna
of the Tripi/aka will open to you at the first application of
your knife.' Well does he express himself 1

294 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. v.

BOOK XXVI.

Those who practise the T^o know that what is external
to themselves cannot be relied on, and that what is internal
and belonging to themselves, does not receive any injury
(par. i). They are therefore able to enjoy themselves in
the world, emptying their minds of all which would inter-
fere with their pursuing their natural course.

What men can themselves control are their minds ; external
things are all subject to the requirements and commands of
the world. Good and evil cannot be prevented from both
coming to men, and loyalty and filial duty may find it hard
to obtain their proper recompense. From of old it has
been so ; and the men of the world arc often startled to
incessant activity with their minds between the thoughts
of profit and injury, and are not able to overcome them
(par. i). But do they know that among the enemies (of
their serenity) there are none greater than the Yin and
Yang? The water and fire of men's minds produce
irregularity in their action, and then again overcome it;
but after the harmony of the mind has been consumed,
there remains in them no more trace of the action of
theTao.

On this account, when ATung-ni was obstinately regard-
less of a myriad generations (in the future), Lao Lai-jze
still warned him to have done with his self-conceit (par. 5).
His reason for doing so was that wisdom had its perils, and
even spirit-like intelligence does not reach to everything
(par. 6). It was so with the marvellous tortoise, and not
with it only. The sage is full of anxiety and indecision
(par. 5), and thereby is successful in his undertakings ;
the man of the greatest knowledge puts away (the idea of)
skill, and without any effort shows his skill . they can both
look on what seems to have no use and pronounce it useful,
and allow their nature while it is able to enjoy itself to take
its course without being anxious about its issue in advantage
or injury (par. i).

And moreover, it is not necessary that they should leave

BK. xxvi. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF JTWANG-3ZE. 295

the world in order to enjoy themselves. There are the
distinctions of antiquity and the present day indelibly
exhibited in the course of time (par. 8). The way in
which the Perfect man enjoys himself is by his passing
through the world of men without leaving any trace of
himself. His way is free and encounters no obstruction
(par. 9) ; his mind has its spontaneous and enjoyable move-
ments, and so his spirit is sure to overcome all external
obstructions. Very different is this from the way of him
who is bent on concealing himself, and on extinguishing
all traces of his course (par. 8). He will seek his enjoy-
ment in the great forest with its heights and hills, and not
be able to endure the trouble of desiring fame, having
recourse also to violence, laying plans, seeking to discharge
the duties of office so as to secure general approval.

Thus the Perfect man obtains the harmony of his
Heaven (-given nature), and his satisfactions spring up, he
knows not how, as when the growing grain in spring has
been laid by the rains (par 9). As to the arts of curing
illness, giving rest to old age, and restraining hasty measures
to remedy the effects of errors, he can put them on one
side, and not discuss them; thus playing the part of one who
has apprehended the ideas and then forgets the words in
which they were conveyed (par. n). Let him who occupies
himself with the Tao beware of ' seeking the fish-baskets
and hare-snares,' and falling into such mistakes as are
instanced in the cases of emaciation to death, or suicide by
drowning.

This Book points out the true form of substances, and
gave rise to the talk in subsequent ages about the Khdn
and Li hexagrams, and about the lead and quicksilver.
Nearly the whole of it has been called in question, and the
second, third, and fourth paragraphs are so marked by
the shallowness of their style, and the eccentricity of their
sentiments, that it may be doubted if they are genuine.
I suspect they were written and introduced by some
imitator of -STwang-jze, and therefore call attention to them
and cast them out of my analysis.

296 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP, v.

BOOK XXXII.

Lin Hsi-ung omits Books XXVIII, XXIX, XXX, and
XXXI from his edition of A"wang-jze's Writings. Our
Book XXXII, the Lieh Yu-khau, is with him Book
XXVIII. He explains and comments on its various
paragraphs as he does in the case of all the previous
Books. Instead of subjoining an Analysis and Summary
of the Contents in his usual way, he contents himself with
the following note.

In the Notice given by Sfi Sze-^an 1 of the Sacrificial Hall
to A"wang-jze, he says that after reading the last paragraph
of Book XXVII (the Yu Yen, or < Metaphorical Words'),
about Yang 3ze-u, and how (when he left the inn) the
other visitors would have striven with him about the places
for their mats, he forthwith discarded the four Books that
followed, the Zang Wang, the Tao A'lh, the Yueh
-STien, and the Yu-ffl; making the Lieh Yu-khdu
immediately follow that paragraph. Having done so, he
fully saw the wisdom of what he had done, and said with a
laugh, ' Yes, they do indeed belong to one chapter ! '

So did the old scholar see what other eyes for a thousand
years had failed to see No subsequent editor and com-
mentator, however, ventured to take it on him to change
the order of the several Books which had been established,
following therein the Critical Canon laid down by Con-
fucius about putting aside subjects concerning which doubts
are entertained 2 ; but we ought not to pass the question by
without remark.

The subject of the last paragraph of the Lieh Yu-khau
is /Twang-jze, 'when he was about to die/ It clearly

1 Sfl Shih (j|jp ^j), styled 3*e-*an (-^r (j||) and also, and more

frequently, Tung-pho Qpf i^fe), one of the most celebrated statesmen and
scholais of the eleventh century (1036-1101). The notice of the Saciificial
Hall of JTwang-ftze was written in 1078 See Appendix viu

a See the Confucian Analects II, xvm : ' Learn much and put aside the
points of which you stand in doubt, while you speak cautiously at the same time
of the others.'

BK. XXXII. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF JHVANG-3ZE. 297

intimates how he, the man of .Oi-yuan, from that time
ceased to use his pencil, just as the appearance of the Lin
(in the 3o-wan) did in the case of Confucius. Not a single
character therefore should appear as from him after this.
We have no occasion therefore to enter into any argument
about the Thien Hsia (Book XXXIII). We may be
sure that it was made, not by A"wang-jze, but by some
editor of his writings. Later writers, indeed, contend
vehemently for A"wang-jze's own authorship of it. We
can only say, Great is the difficulty in treating of the
different views of Scholars l !

1 The arguments both of Sa Shih and Lin Hsf-ung as set forth in this note
are far from conclusive

APPENDIX VI,

List of Narratives, Apologues, and Stories of
various kinds in the Writings of A%ang-jze.

BOOK I.

Paragraph i. The enjoyment of the Tao by such vast
creatures as the Khwan and the Phang.

2. The enjoyment and foolish judgments of smaller crea-
tures Big trees and Phang 3^-

3. Questions put by Thang to K\. The Tao in different
men : Yung-jze ; Lieh-jze ; and an ideal Taoist. The
Perfect man, the Spirit-like man, and the Sagely-minded
man.

4. Yao wishing to resign the throne to Hsu Yu.

5. A'ien Wti and Lien Shft on the ideal Tdoist.

6. A cap-seller of Sung Yao after visiting the four
Perfect ones.

7. Hui-jze and -XVang-jze the great calabashes ; the
hand-protecting salve; and the great Ail ant us tree.

BOOK II.

Par. i. Nan-kwo %zz-kh\ in a trance, and his disciple.
The notes of heaven, earth, and man.

4. ' In the morning three : ' the monkeys and their
acorns

7. Yio and Shun, on the wish of the former to smite
some small states.

9. Li K\ before and after her mairiage.

10. The penumbra and the shadow. TTwang-jze's dream
that he was a butterfly.

BK V. LIST OF NARRATIVES OF JTWANG-3ZE. 2Q9

BOOK III.

Par. 2. King Wan-hui and his cook ; how the latter cut
up his oxen.

3. Kung-wan Hsien and the Master of the Left who
had only one foot.

4. The death of Ldo-jze ; and adverse judgment on his
life.

BOOK IV.

Pars, i, 2. Yen Hui and Confucius; on the proposal of
the former to go and convert the ruler of Wei.

3, 4. 3 z e-kcio and Confucius ; on the mission of the
former from KM to Kh\.

5. Yen Ho and Ku Po-yu ; on the former's undertaking
to be tutor to the wayward son of duke Ling of Wei.

6. The master-mechanic and the great tree; so large
and old through its uselessness.

7. Nan-po 3ze-/*i and the great tree, preserved by its
uselessness. Trees of Sung cut down because of their good
timber. Peculiarities exempting from death as sacrificial
victims.

8. The deformed object Shti and his worth.

9. Rencontre between Confucius and the madman of
KM.

BOOK V.

Par. i. Confucius explains the influence of the cripple
Wang Thai over the people of Lft.

2,. The fellow-students 3ze-Mn and the cripple Shan-
thti Kia.

3. Confucius and Toeless of Shfl-shan. Judgment of
Toeless and Lao-jze on Confucius.

4. Duke Ai of Lti and Confucius ; on the ugly but most
able and fascinating man, Ai-thAi Tho. Admiration for
Confucius of duke Ai.

5. The deformed favourites of duke Ling of Wei and
duke Hwan of KM. Argument between ATwang-jze and
Hui-jze, growing out of the former's account of them.

3OO THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. VI.

BOOK VI.

Par. 8. Nan-po 3ze-khwei and the long-lived Nu Yu.
How Pti-liang 1 learned the Tao.

9. Four Taoists, and the submission of 3ze-yu, one of
them, a poor deformed hunchback, to his lot, when he was
very ill.

10. The submission of 3ze-lai, another of the four, as
his life was ebbing away.

n. Three Taoists, and the ways of two of them on the
death of the third. Conversation on the subject between
Confucius and 3ze-kung.

12. Confucius and Yen Hui on the mourning of Mang-
sun 3hai.

I 3- l~r 3 ze an d Hsu Yti. How the Tao will remove the
injuries of error, and regenerate the mind.

14. Confucius and Yen Hui. The growth of the latter
in Taoism.

15. 3ze-yu and 3^e-sang. The penury of the latter and
submission to his fate.

BOOK VII.

Par. i. Nieh ATAueh, Wang f, and Phti-i-jze. That Shun
was inferior in his Taoistic attainments to the more ancient
sovereign, Thai.

2. jSHen WQ and the recluse AV/ieh-yu ; on the ideal of
government.

3. Thien Kan and a nameless man ; that non-action is
the way to govern the world.

4. Yang 3ze-u and Lao Tan on the nameless govern-
ment of the Intelligent Kings

5 Lieh-jze and his master Hti-jze. How the latter
defeated the wizard of 7\Tang.

6. The end of Chaos, wrought by the gods of the
southern and northern seas.

BOOK VIII.
Par. 4. How two shepherd slaves lose their sheep in

BK. XII. LIST OF NARRATIVES OF JTWANG-3ZE. 30 1

different ways. The corresponding cases of the righteous
Po-1 and the robber JSTih.

BOOK X.

Par. i. Murder of the ruler of KtA by Thien ATMng-jze,
and his usurpation of the State.

2. How the best and ablest of men, such as Lung-fang,
Pi-kan, jOang Hung, and 3 ze "hsu, may come to a disas-
trous end, and only seem to have served the purposes of
such men as the robber Tfih.

3. Evils resulting from such able men as 3&ng Shan, Shih
jdfcifl, Yang A'u, Mo Ti, Shih Khwang, KAui, and Li ^u.

4. Character of the age of Perfect Virtue, and sovereigns
who flourished in it in contrast with the time of ATwang-
jze.

BOOK XL

Par. 3. Shui Kku and Ldo-jze. The latter denounces the
meddling with the mind which began with Hwang-Ti, and
the spread of knowledge, as productive of all evil.

4. Hwang-Tf and Kwang A7/ang-jze, his master, who
discourses on the mystery of the Tao, and how it promotes
long life.

5. Yun jfifiang and Hung Mung, or the Leader of the
Clouds and the Great Ether ; the wish of the former to
nourish all things, and how they would be transformed by
his doing nothing.

BOOK XII.

Par. 4. The loss and recovery by Ydo of his dark-
coloured Pearl ; the Tdo.

5. Hsu Yu's reply to Ydo on the character of Nieh
K/iueh and his unfitness to take the place of Sovereign.

6. Ycio rejects the good wishes for him of the Border-
warden of HwcL

7. Yu and Po-/zang 3ze-kdo. The latter vindicates his
resignation of dignity and taking to farming.

9. Confucius and L^o-jze; on the attitude to the Tdo
of a great sage and ruler.

3O2 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. VI.

io. ySTiang-lu Mien and Kl Khh ; on the counsel which
the former had given to the ruler of Lti.

n. 3 z e-kung and the old gardener; argument of the
latter in favour of the primitive simplicity, and remarks
thereon by Confucius.

12. ^Tun Ming and Yuan Fung; on the government of
the sage ; of the virtuous and kindly man ; and of the
spirit-like man.

13. Man Wti-kwei and K/tih-kang Man-//i; that there
had been confusion and disorder before the time of Shun ;
and the character of the age of Perfect Virtue.

BOOK XIII.

Par. 6. Yo and Shun; on the former's method of
government.

7. Confucius, wishing to deposit some writings in the
royal Library, is repulsed by Lao-jze. Argument between
them on Benevolence and Righteousness in relation to the
nature of man.

8. Shih-//ang Kh\ and Ldo-flze ; the strange conferences
between them, and the charges brought by the one against
the other.

io. Duke Hwan and the wheelwright Phien ; that the
knack of an art cannot be conveyed to another, and the
spirit of thought cannot be fully expressed in writing.

BOOK XIV.

Par. 2. Tang, a minister of Shang, and ATwang-jze on
the nature of Benevolence

3. Pei-man AV/ang and Hwang-Ti , a description of
Hwang-Tfs music, the Hsien-/Wih.

4. Yen Yuan and A"in, the music-master of Lti, on the
course of Confucius ; the opinion of the latter that it had
been unsuccessful and was verging to entire failure.

5. Confucius and Ldo-jze. The former has not yet got
the Tao, and Ldo-jze explains the reason.

6. Confucius and L&o-jze. Confucius talks of Benevolence

BK. xvili. LIST OF NARRATIVES OF J5TWANG-3ZE. 303

and Righteousness ; and how the tables are turned on him.
He is deeply impressed by the other.

7. 3 ze- kung, in consequence of the Master's report of his
interview, goes also to see L&o-jze ; and is nonplussed and
lectured by him.

8. Confucius sees Ldo-jze again, and tells him how he
has profited from his instructions. The other expresses his
satisfaction with him.

BOOK XVI.

Par. 2. The state of Perfect Unity, and its gradual
Decay.

BOOK XVII.

Pars. 1-7. The Spirit-earl of the Ho and ZQ of the
Northern Sea ; on various metaphysical questions growing
out of the doctrine of the Tao.

8. The khwei, the millipede, the serpent, the wind, the
eye, and the mind , how they had their several powers, but
did not know how.

9. Confucius in peril in Khwang is yet serene and
hopeful.

10. Kung-sun Lung and Mu of Wei. The Frog of the
dilapidated well, and the Turtle of the Eastern Sea. The
greatness of A'wang-jze's teachings.

1 1 . K wang-jze refuses the invitation of the king of KM
to take office. The wonderful tortoise-shell of the king.

12. Hui-jze and ^wang-jzc. The young phoenix and
the owl.

13. Hui-jze and ATwang-jze; how ^Twang-jze understood
the enjoyment of fishes.

BOOK XVIII.

Par. 2. Hui-jze and -KVang-jze; vindication by the
latter of his behaviour on the death of his wife.

3. Mr. Deformed and Mr. One-foot ; their submission
under pain and in prospect of death.

4. ATwang-jze and the skull ; what he said to it, and its
appearance to him at night in a dream.

304 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. vi.

5. The sadness of Confucius on the departure of Yen
Hui for Kh\y and his defence of it to 3 z e-kung. The ap-
pearance of a strange bird in Lti, and his moralizings on it.

6. Lieh-jze and the skull. The transmutations of things.

BOOK XIX.

Par. 2. Lieh-jze and Kwan Yin ; on the capabilities of
the Perfect man.

3. Confucius and the hunchback, who was skilful at
catching cicadas with his rod

4. The boatman on the gulf of -Oang-shan, and his skill.

5. Thien Khdi-ih and duke Wei of Ku ; on the best
way to nourish the higher life. How it was illustrated by
Thien's master, and how enforced by Confucius.

6. The officer of sacrifice and his pigs to be sacrificed.

7 Duke Hwan gets ill from seeing a ghostly sprite, and
how he was cured.

8. The training of a fighting-cock.

9. Confucius and the swimmer in the gorge of Lu.

10. K/tmg, the worker in rottlera wood, and the bell-
frame; how he succeeded in making it as he'did.

11. Tung-y K\ and his chariot-driving ; how his horses
broke down.

12. The skill of the artisan Shui.

14. The weakling Sun Hsiu and the Master 3 ze -P* cn
AYzing-jze, with his disciples.

BOOK XX.

Par. i. ^wang-jze and his disciples ; the great tree that
was of no use, and the goose that could not cackle.

2. 1-liao of Shih-nan and the marquis of Lti ; how the
former presses it on the marquis to go to an Utopia of
Taoism in the south, to escape from his trouble and
sorrow.

3. Pei-kung She and prince Khmg-ki; how the former
collected taxes and made a peal of bells.

4. How the Th&-kung Zan condoled with Confucius on
his distresses, and tried to convert him to TAoism.

BK. XXII. LIST OF NARRATIVES OF J5TWANG-3ZE. 305

5. Confucius and 3ze-sang Hu. The Tdoistic effect of
their conversation on the former. The dying charge of
Shun to Yu.

6. ATwang-jze in rags before the king of Wei. The
apologue of the climbing monkey.

7. Confucius and Yen Hui ; on occasion of the perilous
situation between AY/an and 3hi. Confucius expounds
the principles that supported him.

8. A'wang- jze's experiences in the park of Tiao-ling ; *-
has the character of an apologue.

9. The Innkeeper's two concubines ; the beauty dis-
liked and the ugly one honoured.

BOOK XXI.

Par. i. Thien 3ze-fang and the marquis Wan of Wei.

2. Wan-po Hsueh-jze and the scholars of the Middle
States

3. Confucius and Yen Hui ; on the incomprehensibleness
to the latter of the Master's course.

4. Conversation between Confucius and L&o-^ze on the
beginning of things.

5. A'wang-^zc and duke Ai of Lu ; on the dress of the
scholar.

6. Pai-li Hsi.

7 The duke of Sung and his map-drawers.

8. King Wan and the old fisherman of 3 an Confucius
and Yen Hui on king Wan's dream about the fisherman.

9. The aichery of Lich-^ze and Po-hwan Wu-^an

10. A'icn Wu, and Sun Shu-ao, the True man. Con-
fucius's account of the True man. The king of K/ib and
the ruler of Fan

BOOK XXII.

Par. i. Knowledge, Dumb Inaction, Head-strong Stam-
merer, and Hwang-Ti on the Tao

3. Nieh A7/ueh questioning Phei-i about the T4o.

4. Shun and his minister K/iang ; that man is not his
own.

[40] X

3O6 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. vi.

5. Confucius and L&o Tan ; on the Perfect To.

6. Tung-kwo Qzt's question to ATwang-jze about where
the Tcio was to be found, and the reply.

7. A-ho Kan, Shan Nang, Ldo-lung ATi, Yen Kang ;
Grand Purity, Infinitude, Do-nothing, and No-beginning
on what the Tdo is.

8. Star-light and Non-entity.

9. The Minister of War and his forger of swords.

10. 2Tan K/im and Confucius ; how it was before heaven
and earth.

11. Confucius and Yen Hui No demonstration to wel-
come, no movement to meet.

BOOK XXIII.

Par. i. Kang- sang AY/A and the people about Wei-lei
hill.

2. Kang-sang AY/u and his disciples. He repudiates
being likened by them to Ydo and Shun.

3. Kang-sang AY/u and the disciple Nan-yung AY/u
4-12. Lao-jze lessoning Nan-yung AV/Q on the principles

of Taoism.

BOOK XXIV.

Pars, i, 2. Hsu Wu-kwei, Nu Shang, and the marquis
Wu of Wei Hsu's discourses to the marquis.

3. Hwang-Ti, with six attending sages, in quest of the
Tao, meets with a wise boy herding horses

5. Debate between Afwang-jze and Hui-jze, illustrating
the sophistry of the latter

6. The artisan Shih cleans the nose of a statue with the
wind of his axe ; but declines to try his ability on a living
subject.

7. Advice of Kwan ATung on his death-bed to duke
Hwan of Kh\ about his choice of a successor to himself.

8. The king of WO and the crafty monkey. His lesson
from its death to Yen Pu-i.

9. Nan-po 3ze-/ii and his attendant Yen AT^ang-jze.

BK. xxvi. LIST OF NARRATIVES OF J?WANG-8ZE. 307

The trance is the highest result of the T&o. Practical
lesson to be drawn from it.

10. Confucius at the court of Kkb along with Sun
Shu-do and 1-lido.

11. 3 z e-^i, and his eight sons, with the physiognomist
-fang Yan.

. Nieh .Oueh meets Hsu Yti fleeing from the court of

BOOK XXV.

Par. i. 3eh-yang seeking an introduction to the king
of ATM. 1 ATieh, Wang Kwo, and the recluse Kung-yueh
Hsiti.

3. The ancient sovereign Zan-hsiang ; Thang, the
founder of the Shang dynasty; Confucius; and Yung-

4. King Yung of Wei and his counsellors: on his desire
and schemes to be revenged on Thien Mau of Kh\. Tdi
3in-#an and his apologue about the horns of a snail.

5. Confucius and the Recluse at Ant-hill in KM.

6. The Border-warden of .Oang-wu's lessons to 3ze-lo.
A\vang-jze's enforcement of them.

7. Ldo-jze and his disciple Po Ku : that the prohibitions
of Law provoke to transgression.

8. The conversion to Taoism of Ku Po-yu.

9. Confucius and the historiographers ; about the
honorary title of duke Ling of Wei.

10. Little Knowledge and the Correct Harmonizer.
on the Talk of the Hamlets and Villages.

11. On the namelessness of the T^o; and that Tao is
but a borrowed or metaphorical name.

BOOK XXVI.

Par. 2. Against delaying to do good when it is in one's
power to do it. The apologue of ATwang-jze meeting with
a goby on the road.

3. The big fish caught by the son of the duke of Zan.

4. The Resurrectionist Students.

X 2

308 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. vi.

5. How L&o LSi-jze admonished Confucius.

6. The dream of the ruler Yuan of Sung about a tor-
toise.

7. Hui-jze and ATwang-jze ; on the use of being useless,
ii. Illustrations of the evil accruing from going to excess

in action, or too suddenly taking action.

BOOK XXVII.

Par. 2. A'wang-jze and Hui-jze on Confucius ; did he
change his views in his sixtieth year ?

3. Confucius and his other disciples : on 3ang-jze and
his twice taking office with different moods of mind

4. Yen AY/ang 3ze-yti tells his Master Tung-kwo 3ze-
kh\ of his gradual attainments.

5. The penumbrae and the shadows.

6. Lao-jze's lessoning of Yang 3ze-u, and its effects on
him.

BOOK XXVIII.

Par. i. Yao's proffers of the throne to Hsu Yd and
3ze-/{u A'ih-fti. Shun's proffers of it to 3ze-/&au Alh-po, to
Shan A'uan, and to the farmer of Shih-hti. Thai-wang
Than-fu and the northern tribes. Prince Sau of Yueh.

2. Counsel of 3ze-hwa 3ze to the marquis ATao of Han.

3. The ruler of Lti and the Taoist Yen Ho, who hides
himself from the advances of the other.

4. Lieh-jzc and his wife, on his declining a gift from the
ruler of ^Tang.

5 The high-minded and resolute sheep-butcher Yueh,
and king Kao of K/ih.

6. The poor Yuan Hsien and the wealthy 3ze-kung.
3ang-jze, in extreme poverty, maintaining his high and
independent spirit. The satisfaction of Confucius in Yen
Hui refusing, though poor, to take any official post.

7. Prince Miu of A"ung-shan, living in retirement, was
not far from the Tao.

8. Confucius and the disciples Yen Hui, 3ze-lu, and
3ze-kung, during the perilous time between A7*an and 3hdi.

BK. xxxn. LIST OF NARRATIVES OF WANG-,3ZE. 309

9. Shun and the northerner Wfi-ai who refuses the
throne. Thang, and Pien Sui and Wti Kwang, who both
refused it.

10. The case of the brothers Po-t and Shfl-^1, who
refused the proffers of king Wu.

BOOK XXIX.

Par. T. The visit of Confucius to the robber ATih, and
interview between them.

2. 3ze-ang and Man Kdu-teh (Mr. Full of Gain-reck-
lessly-got) on the pursuit of wealth.

3. Mr Dissatisfied and Mr. Know-the-Mean ; on the
pursuit and effect of riches.

BOOK XXX.

How A'wang-jze dealt with the king of K&Q and his
swordsmen, curing the king of his love of the sword-fight.
The three Swords.

BOOK XXXI.

Confucius and the Old Fisherman ; including the story
of the man who tried to run away from his shadow.

BOOK XXXII.

Par. i. Lieh-jze and the effect of his over- manifestation
of his attractive qualities. Failure of the warnings of his
master.

2. The sad fate of Hwan of A'ang, a Confucianist, who
resented his father's taking part with his Mohist brother.

5. Kb Phing-man and his slaughtering the dragon.

8. A"wang-jze's rebuke of 3^ao Shang for pandering to
the king of Sung, and thereby getting gifts from him.

9. Description to duke Ai of Lu of Confucius by Yen Ho
as unfit to be entrusted with the government.

n. KMo-fft the Correct, and his humility.

12. ATwang-jze's rebuke of the man who boasted of
having received chariots from the king of Sung, and com-
parison of him to the boy who stole a pearl from under the
chin of the Black Dragon when he was asleep.

3IO THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. VI.

13. AlVang-jze declines the offer of official dignity. The
apologue of the sacrificial ox.

14. A"wang-jze, about to die, opposes the wish of his
disciples to give him a grand burial. His own description
of what his burial should be.

BOOK XXXIII.

Par. i. The method of the Tao down to the time of
Confucius.

2. The method of Mo Ti and his immediate followers.

3, 4. The method of Mo's later followers.

5. The method of Kwan Yin and Ldo-jze.

6. The method of A"wang-jze.

7. The ways of Hui Shih, Kung-sun Lung, and other
sophists.

APPENDIX VII.

I.

THE STONE TABLET IN THE TEMPLE OF LAO-SZE.
BY HSIEII TAO-HANG OF THE Sui DYNASTY 1 .

i. After the Thai K\ (or Primal Ether) commenced
its action, the earliest period of time began to be unfolded.

1 Ilsith Tao-hang J, called also Hsuan-/fc//ing

\\as one of the most famous scholais and able ministers of the Sui dynasty
(581 -618), and also an eloquent writer His biography is given at considerable
length m the fifty-seventh chapter of the Books of Sui

Por about 200 yeais after the end of the 3 m dynasty, the empire had been in
a vuy divided and distracted state The period is known as the epoch of
* The Southern and Northern Dynasties,' no fewer than nine or ten of which
co-existed, none of them able to assert a universal sway till the rise of Sui The
most powerful of them towaids the end of the time was ' The Northern Aau,'

m connexion with the Wfl-//ang (jjf* Jwj icign of which (558-561) the
name of our Hsich first appears In the Wft-phmg ("Sr ^FM reign of
'The Northern Khl (570-576),' we find him member of a committee for
ic vising the rules of ' The * ive Classes of Ceremonial Observances/ and gaming
distinction as a poet

When the emperoi Wan (^C *rjl*) by name Yang Alen (^j J^)*
a scion of the ruling House of Sui, a small principality in the present
Hu-pci, and founder of the dynasty so called, had succeeded m putting down
the various conflicting dynasties, and claimed the sovereignty of the empue in
581, Hsieh freely yielded his allegiance to him, and was employed in the
conduct of various affairs The important paper, of the translation of the
greater part of which a translation is here attempted, was the outcome of one
of them Wan Ti rcgulaily observed the Confucian worship of God, but also
kept up the ceremonies of Buddhism and Taoism. Having repaired the
dilapidated temple of Lao-$ze at his birth-place, he required from Hsieh an
inscription for the commemorative tablet in it, the composition of which is
referred to the year 586, * the sixth year of Stu's rule over all beneath the sky '

Haieh appears to have been a favourite with the emperor W T an, but when Wan
was succeeded in 605 by his son, known as Yang Ti (j/$jg *rjl7 h i s relations with

312 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. vil.

The curtain of the sky was displayed, and the sun and
moon were suspended in it; the four-cornered earth was
established, and the mountains and streams found their
places in it. Then the subtle influences (of the Ether)
operated like the heaving of the breath, now subsiding and
again expanding ; the work of production went on in its
seasons above and below ; all things were formed as from
materials, and were matured and maintained. There were
the (multitudes of the) people ; there were their rulers
and superiors.

2. As to the august sovereigns of the highest antiquity,
living as in nests on trees in summer, and in caves in
winter, silently and spirit-like they exercised their wisdom.
Dwelling like quails, and drinking (the ram and dew) like
newly-hatched birds, they had their great ceremonies like
the great terms of heaven and earth, not requiring to be
regulated by the dishes and stands ; and (also) their great
music corresponding to the common harmonics of heaven
and earth, not needing the guidance of bells and drums.

3 By and by there came the loss of the Tao, when its
Characteristics took its place. They in their turn were
lost, and then came Benevolence. Under the Sovereigns
and Kings that followed, now more slowly and anon more
rapidly, the manneis of the people, from being good and
simple, became bad and mean. Thereupon came the Literati
and the Mohists with their confused contentions; names and

the throne became less happy Offended by a memorial which Hsieh presented,
and the ground of ofictice in which we entirely fail to perceive, the emptror
ordeied him to put an end to himself Hsieh was surprised by the sentence,
and hesitated to comply with it, on which an executioner was sent to strangle
him Thus ended the hie of Ilsieh Tao-hang in his seventieth year His
death was regretted and resented, we are told, by the people gencrnlly A
collection of his wntmgs was made in seventy chapters, and was widely read.
I do not know to what extent these have been preserved , if many of them have
been lost, and the paper, here in part submitted to the readei, were a fair specimen
of the others, the loss must be pronounced to be great Of this paper I have
had two copies before me in translating it One of them is in Qiao Hung's
1 Wings to Lao-$ze,' the other is in 'The Complete Works of the Ten
Philosophers ' Errors of the Text occur now in the one copy, now in the
other l*i om the two combined a Text, which must be exactly correct or
nearly so, is made out.

APP. VII. THE STONE TABLET TO LAo-3ZE. 313

rules were everywhere diffused. The 300 rules l of cere-
mony could not control men's natures ; the 3000 rules 1 of
punishment were not sufficient to put a stop to their treach-
erous villames. But he who knows how to cleanse the
current of a stream begins by clearing out its source, and
he who would straighten the end of a process must com-
mence with making its beginning correct. Is not the
Great To the Grand Source and the Grand Origin of all
things ?

4. The Master L&o was conceived under the influence of
a star. Whence he received the breath (of life) we cannot
fathom, but he pointed to the (plum-) tree (under which he
was born), and adopted it as his surname 2 ; we do not
understand 2 whence came the musical sounds (that were
heard), but he kept his marvellous powers concealed in the
womb for more than seventy years When he was born, the
hair on his head was already white, and he took the desig-
nation of ' The Old Boy ' (or Lo-jze). In his person,
three gateways and two (bony) pillars formed the dis-
tinctive marks of his ears and eyes ; two of the symbols
for five, and ten brilliant marks were left by the wonderful
tread of his feet and the grasp of his hands. From the time
of Fu-hsi down to that of the A"au dynasty, in uninterrupted
succession, dynasty after dynasty, his person appeared, but
with changed names. In the times of kings Wan and Wu
he discharged the duties, (first), of Curator of the Royal
Library \ and (next), of the Recorder under the Pillar 3 .
Later on in that dynasty he filled different offices, but did

1 Compaic vol \x\ui, p 323, par 38

2 Li (35) > a plum-tiee Por this and many of the other prodigies men-
tioned by Hsieh, see what Julien calls ' The Fabulous Legend of Lao-gze/ and
has tiansl.ited in the Introduction to his \eision of the 7'ao Teh A'ing
Others of them are found in the Ilistoiical, or rather Legendary, Inti eduction
in the 'Collection of Taoist Treatises,' edited by LCi Yu m 1877

3 The meaning of the former of these offices may be considered as settled ,
see the note m Wang A'an-y&aYs edition of the ' Historical Records (1870),'
under the Biography of Lao-gze The natuie of the second office is not so
clearly ascertained It was, I apprehend, more of a literary character than the
curatorship

314 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. VII.

not change his appearance. As soon as Hsuan Ni 1 saw
him, he sighed over him as 'the Dragon,' whose powers
are difficult to be known 2 . Yin (Hsi), keeper of the
(frontier) gate, keeping his eyes directed to every quarter,
recognised * the True Man* as he was hastening into re-
tirement. (By Yin Hsi he was prevailed on) to put
forth his extraordinary ability, and write his Book in two
Parts 3 , to lead the nature (of man) back to the Tdo, and
celebrating the usefulness of ' doing nothing.' The style of it
is very condensed, and its reasoning deep and far-reaching.
The hexagram which is made up of the 'dragons on the
wing 4 ' is not to be compared with it in exquisite subtlety.
(The 3o A"wan) which ends with the capture of the Lin,
does not match it in its brightness and obscurity. If
employed to regulate the person, the spirit becomes clear
and the will is still. If employed to govern the state, the
people return to simplicity, and become sincere and good.
When one goes on to refine his body in accordance with
it, the traces of material things are rolled away from it ,
in rambow-hued robes and mounted on a stork he goes
forwards and backwards to the purple palace; on its juice
of gold and wine of jade 5 he feasts m the beautiful and pure
capital. He is lustrous as the sun and moon ; his ending
and beginning aie those of heaven and earth. He who
crosses its stream, drives away the dust and noise of the
world; he who finds its gate, mounts prancing up on the
misty clouds. It is not for the ephemeral fly to know the
fading and luxuriance of the Ta-Mun r> , or for a Fang-i 7
to fathom the depth of an Arm of the sea. Vast indeed
(is the Tao)! words are not sufficient to describe its
excellence and powers !

5. AVang ATau tells us, that, 'when Lao Tan died,

1 Confucius, who was styled after the beginning of our era for several
centuries, * Duke Ni, the Illustrious '

' See vol xxxix, pp 34, 35 J See vol xxxix, p 35

4 The A'^ien or first of all the hexagiams of the Yi A'mg, but the sentence
is to be understood of all the hexagrams, of'the Yi as a whole

5 Compare Pope's line, ' The juice nectareous, and the balmy dew '

6 Vol xxxix, p 1 66. 7 Vol. xxxix, p 244

APP. vil. THE STONE TABLET TO LAO-3ZE. 315

Khm Shih went to condole (with his son), but after crying
out three times, immediately left the house 1 .' This was
what is called the punishment for his neglecting his Heaven
(-implanted nature), and although it appears as one of the
metaphorical illustrations of the supercilious officer, yet
there is some little indication in the passage of the reap-
pearance of the snake after casting its exuviae 2 .

[At this point the author leaves the subject of the Tdo
and its prophet, and enters on a long panegyric of the
founder of the Stii dynasty and his achievements. This
sovereign was the emperor Wan (^JT *j^), the founder of Sui

(Pff ^ 10.)' origfoaMy Yang ATien, a scion of the House
of Sui, a principality whose name remains in Sui-Mu, of
the department Teh-an in Hu Pei. He was certainly the
ablest man in the China of his day, and deserves a portion
of the praise with which Mr. Hsieh celebrates him after
his extravagant fashion. He claimed the throne from the
year 581. While doing honour to Confucianism, he did
not neglect the other two religions in the empire, Taoism
and Buddhism ; and having caused the old temple of Lao-
jze to be repaired in grand style in 586, he commissioned
Hsieh Tao-hang to superintend the setting up in it a com-
memorative Tablet of stone.

I pass over all this, which is related at great length, and
proceed to give the inscription. It occupies no fewer than
353 characters in 88 lines, each consisting of four characters.
The lines are arranged in what we may call eleven stanzas
of equal length, the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth lines
of each rhyming together. There is a good deal of art in
the metrical composition. In the first six stanzas the
rhyming finals are in the even tone and one of the deflected
tones alternately. In the last five stanzas this arrangement
is reversed. The rhymes in 7, 9, and IT are deflected, and
in 8 and 10 even. The measure of four characters is the
most common in the Shih King or Ancient Book of Poetry.

1 Vol xxxix, p 201.

1 Referring, I suppose, to the illustration of the fire and the faggots.

316 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. vn.

It continued to be a favourite down to the Thang dynasty,
after which it fell very much into disuse. Through the
many assonances of the Chinese characters, and the attention
paid to the tones, we have in Chinese composition much of
the art of rhyming, but comparatively little of the genius
of poetry.]

II.

THE INSCRIPTION.

St i. Back in the depths of ancient time;
Remote, before the Tis began ;
Four equal sides defined the earth,
And pillars eight the heaven sustained.
All living things in classes came,
The valleys wide, and mighty streams
The Perfect Tao, with movement wise,
Unseen, Its work did naturally.

St, 2. Its power the elements 1 all felt ;

The incipient germs of things* appeared.
Shepherd and Lord established were,
And in their hands the ivory bonds- 1 .
The Tis must blush before the Hwangs 4 ,
The Wangs must blush before the Tis 4 .
More distant grew Tao's highest gifts,
And simple ways more rare became

St. 3. The still placidity was gone,

And all the old harmonious ways.
Men talents prized, and varnished wit;
The laws displayed proved but a net.

1 * The five essences , ' meaning, I think, the subtle power and operation of
the five elements

2 So Williams, under Wei (iS6) See also the Khang-hs! Thesaurus under

|A?A/

the phrase ^g{.

3 'Bonds' with written characters on them superseded the 'knotted colds'
of the pnmitive age. That the material of the bonds should be, as here
represented, slips of ivory, would seem to anticipate the progress of society

4 The Hwangs (]t|) preceded the Tis in the Taoistic genesis of history;
and as being more simple were Taoistically supeiior to them ; so it was with
the Tis and the Wangs or Kings.

APP. vii. THE STONE TABLET TO LAO-3ZE. 317

Wine-cups and stands the board adorned,
And shields and spears the country filled.
The close-meshed nets the fishes scared:
And numerous bows the birds alarmed.

St. 4. Then did the True Man 1 get his birth,

As 'neath the Bear the star shone down 2 .
All dragon gifts his person graced ;
Like the stork's plumage was his hair.
The complicated he resolved 3 , the sharp made blunt 8 ,
The mean rejected, and the generous chose ;
In brightness like the sun and moon,
And lasting as the heaven and earth 3 .

St. 5. Small to him seemed the mountains five 4 ,
And narrow seemed the regions nine 4 ;
About he went with lofty tread,
And in short time he rambled far.
In carriage by black oxen drawn 5 ,
Around the purple air was bright.
Grottoes then oped to him their sombre gates,
And thence, unseen, his spirit power flowed forth.

St 6. The village near the stream of Ko G
Traces of him will still retain 6 ;
But now, as in the days of old,
With changed times the world is changed.

1 This of course was Lao-gze 2 See above, p 313, par 4

"* In the Tao Teh A'mg, p 50, pai 2, and p 52, par i The reading of

line 7 i* different in my two authorities in the one FJ f5 El TJJ
jy> ** jj *~* s + S -9 ,/Tj 1

in the other jh "w|T H -w. I suppose the correct reading should be

RUT fj /' an( * nave S lven waat * think is the meaning

* Two well-known numerical categories See Mayers's Manual, pp 330,
321, and p 340

3 So it was, according to the story, that I do-jze drew near to the barrier
gate, when he wished to Itave China

6 The Ko is a river flowing from Ho-nan into An-hui, and falling n.to the
Hwai, not far from the district city of H \\ai-yuan It enters the one province
fiom the other in the small department of Po (*b /TJ/J m which, according
to a Chinese map m my possession, Lio-jze was born. The Khang-hst
Thesaurus also gives a passage to the effect that the temple of his mother was
hereabouts, at a bend in the Ko.

3l8 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. VII.

His stately temple fell to ruin ;
His altar empty was and still ;
By the nine wells dryandras grew 1 ,
And the twin tablets were but heaps of stone.

St. 7. But when our emperor was called to rule,
All spirit-like and sage was he.
Earth's bells reverberated loud,
And light fell on the heavenly mirror down.
The universe in brightness shone,
And portents all were swept away;
(All souls), or bright or dark 2 , revered,
And spirits came to take from him their law.

St. 8. From desert sands 3 and where the great trees grow 3 ,
From phoenix caves, and from the dragon woods,
All different creatures came sincere ;
Men of all regions gave their hearts to him.
Their largest vessels brought their gifts,
And kings their rarest things described ;

Black clouds a thousand notes sent forth;

And in the fragrant winds were citherns heard 4 .

St. 9. Through his transforming power, the tripods were

made sure ;
And families became polite and courteous.

1 The nine wells, or bubbling springs, near the village where Lao was born,
are mentioned by various writers , but I fail to see how the growth of the trees
about them indicated the rum of his temple.

2 I have introduced the ' all souls ' in this line, because of the J^ in the
second character Williams defines the first character, yao (JS), as 'the
effulgence of the sun, 1 and of 'heavenly bodies geneially;' the second ($j|) is
well known as meaning ' the animal soul/ and ' the dark disk of the moon.'
The Thesaurus, however, explains the two characters together as a name for
the pole star (;[[> jj^; see Analects I, i); and perhaps I had better have
followed this meaning.

s The ' desert sands ' were, no doubt, what we call ' the desert of Gobi '
The trees referred to were 'in the extreme Last.' The combination phan-mti
is not described more particularly

* This and the three preceding lines are not a little dark.

APP. VII. THE STONE TABLET TO LAo-SZE. 319

Ever kept he in mind (the sage) beneath the Pillar *,
Still emulous of the sovereigns most ancient 2 .
So has he built this pure temple,
And planned its stately structure ;
Pleasant, with hills and meadows around,
And lofty pavilion with its distant prospect.

St. 10. Its beams are of plum-tree, its ridge-pole of cassia;
A balustrade winds round it ; many are its pillars ;
About them spreads and rolls the fragrant smoke 3 ;
Cool and pure are the breezes and mists
The Immortal officers come to their places 4 ;
The Plumaged guests are found in its court 4 ,
Numerous and at their ease,
They send down blessing, bright and efficacious.

St. u. Most spirit-like, unfathomable,

(Tao's) principles abide, with their symbolism at-
tached 5 .

Loud is Its note, but never sound emits 6 ,

Yet always it awakes the highest echoes.

From far and near men praise It ;

In the shades, and in the realms of light, they look
up for Its aid ;

Reverently have we graven and gilt this stone

And made our lasting proclamation thereby to heaven
and earth.

1 'The (sage) beneath the Pillar' must be Lao-gze See above in the
Intioductory notice, p 313

2 See the note on the meaning of the epithet Hj p t vol xxxix, p 40.

3 ' The smoke/ I suppose, ' of the incense, and from the offerings.*

4 Taoist monks are called ' Plumaged or Feathered Scholais (^JjJ -p*)/
from the idea that by their discipline and pills, they can emancipate themselves
fiom the trammels of the material body, and ascend (fly up) to heaven.

Arrived there, as Immortals 01 Hsien (fjlj), it fuither appears they were
constituted into a hierarchy or souety, of which some of them were * officers/
higher in lank than others

8 An allusion to the text of the hexagrams of the Y! A"mg, where the
explanations of them by king Wan, his th wan, are followed by the symbolism
of their different lines by the duke of A'au, his hsiang.

fl See the T&o Teh Alng, ch xli, par. 2.

APPENDIX VIII.

RECORD FOR THE SACRIFICIAL HALL OF
BY SO SniH 1 .

i. ATwang-jze was a native (of the territory) of Mang
and an officer in (the city of) AV/i-yuan. He had been
dead for more than a thousand years, and no one had up
to this time sacrificed to him in Mang. It was Wang
ATing, the assistant Secretary of the Prefect, who super-
intended the erection of a Sacrificial Hall (to Afwang-jze),
and (when the building was finished) he applied to me for

1 The elder of two brothers, both famous as scholais, poets, and adminis-
trators in the history of their country, and sons of a father hardly less

distinguished The father (A r> 1009-1066) was named Su Ilsun (jg Yfll)>

/ M*-t J \ ffiVI * ' T'

with the designation of Ming-yun (BH jfj, and the two names of locality,

Lao-//wan (^j ^) and Mei-shan (jjj| [Jj) Of the U\o bi others the
elder (1036-1101), author of the notice here adduced, was the more celebrated.
His name was Shih (ffl^) and his designation 3ze-Hn (-?- ffllf) but
he is more frequently styled Tung-pho (jf J^)' from lJlc Slluatlon of a
house which he occupied at one time His life was marked by several
vicissitudes of the imperial favour which was shown to him and of the disgrace
to which he was repeatedly subjected He was versed in all Chinese literature,
but the sincerity of his Confucianism ha: not been called in question

His brother (1039-1112), by name Aeh (^jj[) by designation Qzc-y^i

\"J EEf) an ^ ^ locality Ying-pm (5a {&)> ^ as ^ us a commentary
on the Tao Teh A r mg, nearly the whole of which is given by S 1 ^ Hung,
under the several chapters. It seems to have been Aeh's object to find a
substantial unity under the diffcient forms of Confucian, Buddhistic, and Taoist
thought

The short essay, for it is more an essay than 'a record/ \\hich is here
translated is appended by 3^o Hung to his 'Wings to Awang-jze' It is
hardly worthy of Shih's reputation.

APP.VIII. THE SACRIFICIAL HALL OF 1TWANG-3ZE. 321

a composition which might serve as a record of the event ;
(which I made as follows) :

2. According to the Historical Records (of Sze-mA -Oien),
ATwang-jze lived in the time of the kings Hui of Liang
(B. c. 370-333 [P]) 1 and Hsuan of Kh\ (B.C. 332-314). There
was no subject of study to which he did not direct his
attention, but his preference was for the views of Lio-jze ;
and thus it was that of the books which he wrote, con-
taining in all more than ten myriad characters, the greater
part are metaphorical illustrations of those views. He
made 'The Old Fisherman/ 'The Robber ATih,' and 'The
Cutting Open Satchels/ to deride the followers of Con-
fucius, and to set forth the principles of Lo-jze. (So writes
Sze-mA A7/ien, but) his view is that of one who had only a
superficial knowledge of ATwang-jze. My idea is that -ffwang
wished to support the principles of Khung-jze, though we
must riot imitate him in the method which he took to do
so. (I will illustrate my meaning by a case of a different
kind) A prince of Kh\^ was once hurrying away from
the city in disguise 2 , when the gate-keeper refused to let
him pass through. On this his servant threatened the
prince with a switch, and reviled him, saying, ' Slave, you
have no strength 1 J On seeing this, the gate-keeper allowed
them to go out. The thing certainly took place in an
irregular way, and the prince escaped by an inversion of
what was right ; he seemed openly to put himself in oppo-
sition, while he was secretly maintaining and supporting.
If we think that his servant did not love the prince, our
judgment will be wrong ; if we think that his action was
a model for imitation in serving a prince, in that also we
shall be wrong. In the same way the words of A'wang-jze
are thrown out in a contradictory manner, with which the
tenor of his writing does not agree. The correct interpre-

1 Compaie vol xxxix, pp 36, 37, 39. Sze-ma A'^ien enters king Hui's
death in this year The ' Bamboo Books ' place it sixteen years later, see The
General Mirror of History/ under the thirty-fifth year of king Hsien of AHu.

a I suppose this incident is an invention of Sfi Shih's own. I have not
met with it anywhere else In Siao's text for the ' in disguise * of the transla-
tion, however, theie is an error He gives jggr jffi instead of ',

[ 4 o] y

322 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. VIII.

tation of them shows them to be far from any wish to
defame Khung-jze.

3. And there is that in the style which slightly indicates
his real meaning. (In his last Book for instance), when
discussing the historical phases of Taoism, he exhibits
them from Mo Ti, Khm Hw^-lf, Phang Mang, Shan Tdo,
Thien Pien, Kwan Yin, and Ldo Tan, down even to him-
self, and brings them all together as constituting one school,
but Confucius is not among them a . So great and peculiar
is the honour which he does to him !

4. I have had my doubts, however, about * The Robber
Kfo (Bk. XXIX)/ and ' The Old Fisherman (Bk. XXXI),'
for they do seem to be really defamatory of Confucius.
And as to 'The Kings who have wished to Resign the Throne
(Bk. XXVIII)' and 'The Delight in the Sword-fight (Bk.
XXX);' they are written in a low and vulgar style, and
have nothing to do with the doctrine of the To. Looking
at the thing and reflecting on it, there occurred to me the
paragraph at the end of Book XXVII (' Metaphorical
Language'). It tells us that 'when Yang 3ze-u had
gone as far as A^in, he met with Ldo-jze, who said to
him, " Your eyes are lofty, and you stare ; who would live
with you ? The purest carries himself as if he were defiled,
and the most virtuous seems to feel himself defective."
Yang 3 ze "^ u looked abashed and changed countenance.
When he first went to his lodging-house, the people in it
met him and went before him. The master of it carried
his mat for him, and the mistress brought to him the towel
and comb. The lodgers left their mats and the cook his
fire-place, as he went past them. When he went away, the
others in the house would have striven with him about (the
places for) their mats.'

After reading this paragraph, I passed over the four
intermediate Books, the Zang Wang, the Yueh /ifien,
the Yu Fu, and the Tdo A'ih, and joined it on to the first
paragraph of the Lieh Yu-khdu (Book XXXII). I then
read how Lieh-jze had started to go to Kh\ but came back

1 See Book XXXIII, pars. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

APP.VIII. THE SACRIFICIAL HALL OF JTWANG-SZE. 323

when he had got half-way to it. (When asked why he had
done so), he replied, c I was frightened, I went into ten
soup-shops to get a meal, and in five of them the soup was
set before me before I had paid for it.' Comparing this
with the paragraph about Yang 3 z e-u, the light flashed
on me. I laughed and said, ' They certainly belong to one
chapter ! '

The words of ATwang-jze were not ended; and some
other stupid person copied in (these other four Books) of
his own among them. We should have our wits about us,
and mark the difference between them. The division of
paragraphs and the titles of the Books did not proceed from
A"wang-jze himself, but were introduced by custom in the
course of time l .

Recorded on the I9th day of the nth month of the first
year of the period Yuan Fang (1078-1085).

1 Few of my readers, I apprehend, will appreciate this article, which is to me
more ajeu d 'esprit than ' a record.' It is strange that so slight and fantastic
a piece should have had the effect attributed to it of making the four Books
which they call in question be generally held by scholars of the present dynasty
to be apocryphal, but still Sti Shih avows m it his belief m Book XXXIII.
Compare the quotation from Lin Hsf-ung on pp. 296, 297

Y 2

INDEX

TO

VOLUMES XXXIX (i), XL (li).

A-ho Kan (ancient Taoist), Part n,
A page 67.
Ai (duke of Lfi), i, 229, 231, 232;

n, 49, 207.
Ailantus, the, i, 174
Ai-thai Tho (the ugly man), i, 229.

Balfour, F. H , i, pp xiv, xv, xvm, xx,
14, 17, 19,20, 24, 128, 135,138,
'42,155, 237,248, 300, 310; n,
240, 247, 251, 257, 262.

Chalmers, Dr. J , i, pp xm, xiv, 64,
91,93, i4, io7, 123, 124.

Davis, Sir J. F., 11, 5.

Edkms, Dr. J., i, 58.
Eitel, Dr. E, J., i, 44 .

Faber, Mr. E., i, 137; li, 247.

Fan (a state), n, 55, 56.

Fan (the river), i, 172.

Fan Li (minister of Yueh), n, 255.

Fang-hwang (name of desert-sprite),

n, 19.

F5ng-i (spirit-lord of the Ho), i, 244.
Fang Ming (charioteer of Hwang-

Ti), n, 96.

Fei-yo (a chapter of Mo Ti), n, 216.
Ffi-hsi (the ancient sovereign), i,

210,244, 370; 11,55.
Ffi-mo (= writings), i, 246.
Ffi-yao (a whirlwind), i, 1 65, 1 67, 300.
Fti Yueh (the minister of Wfi-tmg),

i> 245.

Gabelentz, Prof. G., i, p. xix, 57, 307,

310.
Giles, H. A., i, pp. xiv, xviii, xx, 4,

15,17, 18, 19, 248, 249, et al.

Han (state), n, 152, 153, 189.

Han (river). In phrase Ho Han

(= Milky Way), i, 170.
Han Fei (the author), i, 5, 6, 69, 81,

97, 98, 102, 103, 104, 107, 109,

113-

Han-tan (capital of ATao), i, 284, 390.
Han Ying (the writer), i, 89, 90, 92.
Hao (river), i, 391, 392.
Hardwick, Archdeacon, i, 1 3, 40, 41.
Ho (river), i, 389 ; n, 132, 173, 211.
Ho Han, see Han. tfiang Ho, see

H o-hsu (prehistoric sovereign), 1,279.
Ho-kwan 3 z e (the author), i, 12.
Ho-po (the spirit-ruler of the Ho),
i, 374, 377, 378, 379, 382, 383.
Ho-shang Kung (the author), i, 7, 8,

12,46,75,77,81,83,87,97,98,
99, 101, in, 117, 119, 123.
Hsi ATiang (the Western Ung), li,

133-

Hsi Phang (a minister of &M),n, 102.
Hsi-phang (an attendant of Hwang-

Ti), n, 96.

Hsi Shih (the Beauty), i, 354.
Hsi Wang-mQ (queen of the Genii),

i, 245; 11,248,249.
Hsiang Hsifi (the commentator), i, i o.
Hsiang-Mng (name of a desert), ii,

96, 97.

Hsiang-li Khm (a Mohist), ii, 220.
Hsiang-wang (= Mr. Purposeless),

i, 312.
Hsiao-Ji (son of Kao Sung of Yin),

n, 132-
Hsiao-po (name of duke Hwan of

Kb\),\\, 177-
Hsieh THo-hSng (minister and

scholar of Sui dynasty), ii, 311,

312.

326

THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.

Hsien-^ih (Hwang-Ti's music), i,
348; ii, 8, 218.

Hsien-ytian Shih (Hwang-Tl), i, 287.

Hsm (the mound-sprite), 11, 19.

Hsmg-than (apricot altar), ii, 192.

Hsio-Afi (a kind of dove), i, 166.

Hsu-ao (state), i, 190, 206.

Hsu Wfi-kwei (a recluse), n, 90, 91,
92, 93, 94-

Hsu-yi (a mystical name), i, 247.

Hsu YG (a contemporary and teacher
of Yao), i, 169, 255, 256, 312;
n, 108, 161, 183, 210.

Hsu-yu (name of count of K\), i,
239.

Hsuan-mmg (name of Profundity), i,
247.

Hsuan Shui (the dark river, meta-
phorical), n, 57.

Hsuan-yang 3ze (an author), n, 265

Hsuan Ymg (editor), i, p.xx, 197,269.

Hti (state), i, 206.

Hti (god of Northern sea), i, 267.

Hti Pfi-^ieh (ancient worthy), i, 239.

Hti-gze (teacher of Lieh-jze), i, 263,
264, 265.

Hti Wan-ymg (editor and commen-
tator), i, p. xx, 325; 11, 63,71.

Hui (favourite disciple of Confucius),
i, 209. See Yen Yuan.

Hui-$ze, or Hui Shih (philosopher,
and friend of wang-$ze), i, 172,
174, 186, 234, 235, 391, 392;
11,4, 137, 144, 229.

Hwa (a place), i, 313.

HwS, Eastern, the (idivme ruler of),
ji, 248, 254.

Hwa-^ieh Shu (a man with one
^foot), 11, 5.

Hwa-liu (one of king Mfi's famous
horses), i, 381.

Hwa-shan (a hill), n, 222.

Hwan (Confuciamst ot A3ng), n,
204, 205.

Hwan (duke of JCM), i, 233, 343;
n, 18, 20, 101, 177.

Hwan Tau (minister of Ya*o), i, 295.

Hwan Tw an (aTaoist sophist), 11, 2 30

Hwang-fti Mi (the writer), i, 8.

Hwang-kwang (some strange pro-
duction), ii, 9.

Hwang-Jung (the first of the upper
musical Accords), i, 269.

Hwang Liao (a sophist), n, 231.

Hwang-Ti (the ancient sovereign),
'> 193, 244, 256, 295, 297, 298,

299, 3", 338, 348, 37o; ii, 7,
28, 55, 58, 60, 73, 96, 97, 171,
172, 218, 255.

e Kao-ao (an officer of
ii, 19.
Hwun-tun (chaos), i, 267, 322.

t (name of a place) ; may be read

Ai, i, 194.
I (the ancient archer), i, 227 ; n, 36,

99.

1 (wild tribes so named), u, 220.
I-i (a bird), n, 32.

I Aieh (a parasite of the court of
. JM),ii f ii 4 .
I-liao (a scion of the house of ATM),

n, 28, 104, 121.

L-lo (some strange growth), n, 9.
t-r JJze (a fabulous personage), i,
. 255, 256.
1-shih (name for speculation about

the ongm of things), i, 247.
I Yin (Thang's adviser and minister),

i, 6; n, 162.

Jesuit translation of the Tao Teh
ing, i, pp. xii, xin, 95, 115.

Juhen, Stanislas (the Sinologue), i,
pp. xin, xv, xvi, xvn, 12, 13, 34,
35, 72, 73, 104, 109, 123, 124;
, 239, 243, 245.

Kan Ymg Phien (the Treatise), i,

p. xi, 38, 40, 43 ; ii, 235-246.
Kan-yueh (a place in Wti, famous

for its swords), i, 367.
Kao Yti (the glossanst), i, 86.
Kau-^ien (king of Yueh), n, in.
Ko (name of the stream, near

whose bank Lao-jze was born),

, 3i7.
Ko Yuan or Hsuan (a Taoist writer),

n, 248.

Kfi (name for female slave), i, 273.
Kti-^ti (ancient state), n, 163, 173.
Kti Kh\ (an attendant of Hwang-Ti),

n, 96.
Kti-^ueh (metaphorical name for a

height), n, 58.
Kumara^iva (Indian Buddhist), i, 76,

90.
Kung-kung (YaVs minister of

works), i, 295.

Kung Po (earl of Kung), n, 161.
Kung Shan (mount Kung), n, 161.
Kung-sun Lung (noble, and sophist

INDEX.

327

of no), i, 387, 389; ", 230.

See Ping.
Kung-jze Mau (a prince of Wei), i,

387.
Rung-wan Hsien (a man of Wei),

i, 200.
Kung-yueh Hsifi (a recluse of Khfi),

11, 114, 115.

Kwai-M (hill in Yueh), ii, in, 133.
Kwan Lung-fang (minister of Hsia),

i, 205,283; 11, 131.
Kwan-ize (minister of duke Hwan

of m), 11, 7 ; called Kwan

Aung, n, 18, 19, 101, 177 ; and

JTung-fG, u, 19, roi.
Kwan Yin (the 'warden Yin Hsi),

i 5, 355 , 12, 13, 226, 227.
KwangAMng-jze (teacher of Hwan g-

Ti), i, 297, 298, 299; n, 255,

256, 257.

Kwang-yao (=starhght), ii, 70.
Kwei (an ancient state), i, 190.
Kwei Kfi 3ze (the famous Recluse),

", 255.

Khang-jhang (? = KSng-sang
u, 82.

Khan-pei (spirit presiding over
Khwan-lun), i, 244.

Khao-fu (ancestor ot Confucius), 11,
209.

Khau jOMen-&h (usurping patriarch
of Taoism), n, 256.

Kho (a nver), n, 14.

KhQ Hwo (a Mohist of the South),
11, 220.

Khung-jze (Confucius), called also
Khung Kh\My Kbiu, Khung-shih,
and ^ung-n?, i, 34, 35, 203,
204, 208, 221, 223, 224, 228,
229, 230, 233, 250, 251, 253,
256, 257, 320, 322, 338, 339,
35i, 354, 355, 357, 358, 360,
361, 362, 375, 376, 385, 386;
ii, 7, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 32, 34,
35, 37, 38, 39, 44, 45, 46, 47,
48, 49, 53, 55, 63, 71, 72, 104,
105, 117, 120, 121, 166, 167,
168, 169, 172, 177, 180, 192,
193, 194, 197, 198, 199, 207,
208, 209.

Khung-thung (a mountain), i, 297.

Khwan (a river), 11, 141. See Kho.

Khwan (the great fish), i, 164, 167.

Khwan (a son of Sze-JM), n, 106,
107.

Khw&n Hwun (an attendant of

Hwang-Ti), ii, 96.
KhwSn-lun (the mountain), i, 244,

3" J ", 5-
Khwang (music-master of Sin), i,

186, 269, 274, 286.
Khwang (a district), i, 385.
Khwang-jze (an old worthy), ii,

180.

Khwei (prince of Aao), ii, 186.
Khwei (a hill-sprite), ii, 19.
Khwei (name of one-footed dragon),

i, 384-

Aan-gze (a worthy of Wei), ii, 159.
Aan ZSn (the True Man, highest

master of the Tao), ii, 1 10 See

especially m Book VI.
Aang (the state), i, 226, 262, 263 ;

n, 204.

Aang Hang (a poet), i, 89.
Aang Aan (editor of Lieh-jze), i,

117.

ang Liang (famous Taoist), ii, 255.
Aang Tao-lmg (first Toist master),

1,42.
a"ng Shang (the Aau library), i,

339-
ang Zo (an attendant of Hwang-

Ti), n, 96.

ao (the state), n, 186, 187.

ao and ao Wan (a lutist of 3m),

i, 186.
Kao-hsi (marquis of Han), ii, 152,

153-

ao Wang (king of JM), ii, 155.

ATau (the dynasty), l i, 338, 339, 353
(in i, 352, and n, 34, 189,
au must be=Wei); n, 163,
164.

Kau (the tyrant of Yin), i, 205, 359,
386; n, 131, 171, 173, 177,
178.

Ii3u Kung (the famous duke of au),
i, 314; n, 178, 218; but in n,
1 6, another duke.

/(Tau-shui (a river), ii, 162.

ATeh Ho (the JTeh .ATiang), ii, 134.

i (a wise man in time of Thang), i,
167.

K\, meaning king At, ii, 178 ; mean-
ing LiG-hsia Hui, h, 168.

Ai Hsien (wizard of ATSng), i, 263.

Ai Hsmg-jze (a rearer of game-
cocks), n, 20.

Ai Aan (a Taoist master), ii, 129.

328

THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.

JH Kbeh (officer of Lfi), i, 318.

Id Kbih (a Mohist of the South), ii,

220.

Ki-kbk (prehistoric sovereign), i, 210.
K\ Thl (ancient worthy), i, 239 ; 11,

141.

A^-gze (an officer of Wei), ii, 118.
K\ 3ze (the count of Wei), i, 239 ;

11, 131.
ATia Yu (Narratives of the School),

1,91.
Jfih (the robber so-called), i, 273,

275, 283, 284, 285, 292, 295,

328; u, 166, 167, 168, 170, 172,

175-
Kih (knowledge personified), i, 311 ;

11, 57, 58, 60.
ATih-hwo (as a name, Mr. Kno\v-the-

Mean), u, 180, 181, 182, 183.
ATih-kung (as a name), u, 180.
Afih-khwai (marquis of Yen), i, 380.
ATih-li Yi (a name), n, 206.
Afiang (the nver), u, 29, 102, 126,

131, 136 (the Clear ATiang), 174,

219.
Afiang-Ju Mien (officer of Lfi), i, 318,

319.
ATieh (the tyiant of Hsia), i, 205,

242, 291,295,380,386; 11,131,

162, 177, 178.

Afieh (name of an old book), i, 220.
jfieh-jze (a Taoist master), 11, 129.
ATieh-jze Thui (officer of duke Wan

of3m), u, 173.
Afieh-yung (name of a book of Mo

Ti), n, 218.
ATien Ho-hau (a certain marquis in

Wei), u, 132.

Afien Wfi (a fabulous Taoistic per-
sonage), i, I7 o, 244, 260; 11,54.
Ain (music-master of Lfi), i, 351.
ATmg (the emperor, of Han), i, 8.
ATifi-fang Yan (a physiognomist), n,

106, 107.

ATiQ-shao (Shun's music), ii, 8.
ATo-lfi (Hwang-Ti's battle-field), u,

171, 173-
Affi Hsi (the philosopher), i, 23, 54,

56, 89, 167; ii, 263, 272.
ATfi Hsm (a Taoist master), u, 16.
Afi-ko Liang (the famous), u, 255.
ATfi-liang (duke of Sheh in AM), 1,210.
Affi-lu (a certain hunchback), u, 14.
ATfi Phmg-man (a TSoist), u, 206.
ATfi 3ung-san (officer of prayer in

temple), n, 18.

ATfi-yung (prehistonc sovereign), i,
287.

Ku Liang (a strong man), i, 256.

Ku Po-yu (a minister of Wei), i,
215; ii, 124.

ATu-ghze (a hill), n, 96.

ATun Mang (name for primal ether),
i, 322, 323.

ATung (a minister of Yueh), ii, in.

ATung Kwo (the Middle States), ii,
43, 216.

ATung-shan (a dependency of Wei),
n, 159.

Afwan-hsu (the ancient sovereign), i,
244.

ATwang-jze and ATwang Khau (our
author), i, pp. xi, xvm, xix, xx,
xxi, 3, 4, 5, 10, ii, i9, 21, 22,
23, 24, 28, 29, 32, 33, 36, 37,
38, 39, 41, 172, 173, 174, 197,
234, 235, 332, 346, 347, 387,
3 8 9> 390, 391, 392; 11, 4, 5, 6,
27,36, 39,4 ,49,50,66,98, 99,
132, 133, 137, 138, 144, 187,
188, 189, 190, 191, 205, 207,

211, 212, 227.

ATwang Kung (duke of Lfi), n, 23.

(or 3hai, the state), i, 352 ; n,

32, 34.
(the state), i, 352 ; n, 32, 34,

160, 161, 172, 197.
(a minister of Shun), n-, 62.
Hung (a historiographer and

musician of Afau), i, 283 ; n,

131.
AT^ang A^ (a disciple of Confucius),

i, 223, 224, 225.
Aj&ang-slian (the name of a gulf),

n, 15.
Atamg-wfi (a district), i, 192; n,

121.
Afang-yu (an attendant of H \vang-

Ti), n, 96.
Kb\ (the state),i, 210, 211, 217, 233,

281,282; u, 7, 19,43,100, 118,

119, 169, 172, 189, 205
ATi Hsieh (an old book), i, 165.
Kb\ Kung (a worthy of Wei), 11,

A 4* A -
ATi-shan (early seat of the house of

ATau), n, 151, 163.
AT&eh Aj&au (= vehement debater),

i, 312.
AT&eh-yu (the madman of A7;fi), i,

170, 221, 260.

INDEX.

329

Aien-lung,the catalogue of, li, 255,
256.

6ih-*ang Man-Atf (a man of king
Wfi's time), i, 324.

Kbh-ki (one of king Mfi's steeds),
i, j8r; ii, 175.

KMh Shu (title of minister of war),
, us-

ATuh Shui (the Red-water, meta-
phorical), i, 311.

A&h-wei (a prehistoric sovereign), i,
2 44J n, 73, 138; (also, an as-
sistant historiographer), n, 124,

A&h-yfi (rebel against Hwang-T?),

n, 171-
Kbm (the state and dynasty), n, 147

(but this is doubtful), 207.
Kt>m Hwa-li (a contemporary and

disciple of Mo Ti), n, 218, 221.
A*mShih (a Taoist), 1,201.

ng (worker in rottlera wood),

11, 22.

ng Aang Alng (name of Taoist
r . Treatise), n, 247-254.
A^mg-lang (name of an abyss), n,

162.
KM (the name of Confucius), i, 193,

J 95, 251, 252, 317, 3 6o, 362;

n, 7, 104, 168, 170, 172, 174,

S?"?A ( ? am of 5 place) > " 2 4 -

A#O bnin ( = Mr. Provocation), n.

119.
AM (the state), ,, 221, 224, 230,

3i9,39o, n, 6, 14,55, 56, 98,

100, 104, 120, 155, 156, 169.
A^u-kung (a man of ATM), 11, 108.
Kbu 3hiao-jze (a Taoist), i, 192.
Au-yuan (a place in Kb\), i, 217.
Kbui (ancient artificer), i, 286.
Kbun KM (the classic), i, 189, 360;

n, 216.
Kbung Shan (a hill), i, 295.

Lan 3u (disciple of Awang-$ze),
ii, 40.

Lao-jze, Lao Tan, Lao and Tan
alone(ourLao-jze),i,pp.xi,xn,
xni, xiv, xv, xvi, xvn, xvni, i, 2,
3,4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 10,13, *4, '5,
16,24,25, 28, 29,30,31,32,33,
34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 4'i 44, 201,
228, 229, 261, 262, 294, 317,
339, 340, 341, 355, 357, 358,
359i 360, 361, 362 ; n, 46, 47,

49, 63, 74, 75, 78, 79, 81, 122,
A 147, 148, 226, 227.
Lao Ami (a designation of LSo-jze),

T a '' 4C li "' 249j 25 253 -

Uo s golden principle, i, 31, 106.
Laos views on war, i, 72,73, "o,

III, 112.

Lib's temple and tablet, ii, 311-320.
Lao Lai-gze (a TSoist of JM), n,

Lao-lung Ki (ancient master of the

Tao), 11, 68.
Lei-thing (sprite of the dust-heap),

11, 19. '

U (classic so called), i, 67, 360; ii,

75. 216.

U (sprite of mountain tarns), ii, 19.
Li Hsi-yueh (the commentator), i,

p. xvn; n, 248, 251, 253, 256,
T* 257 2 58,264, 265, 269, 271.
LI Kwang-ti (a modern scholar), ii,

*-i Ai^uie oeauty;, i, 191, 194.

Li Ku (the man of wonderful vision),
1,^269, 274, 286, 287, 311.

LT-^u and Li-lfi (prehistoric so-
vereigns), i, 287.

Li ATAwan (supposed author of the

Li Lung (the black dragon), 11, 211.

Li R (surname and name of Lao-

_ $ ze ), i, 34, 35-

Liang (the state or city), i, 391 ; ii,
120; (also, a place on the bor-
A dersofPhei), n, 147.

Liao Shui (a river), i, 260.

Lieh-jze and Lieh Yu-khau (the
philosopher), i, 5, 85, 116, 168,
263, 264, 265; n, 9 , 53, 154
(-^ Lieh-gze), 202, 203.

Lien ShO (a Taoist in time of Gon-

fucms), i, 170, 171.
Lin Hsi-ung (editor of JTwang- gze),

i, p xx, 232, 233, 375; 11, 18,

100,117,273-297.
Lin Hui (of the Yin dynasty), ii, 34,

35-
Ling (duke of Wei), i, 215, 233 ; ii,

124, 125, 126.

Ling Thai (=the Intelligence), ii, 24.
Liti An, i. q. Hwii-nan 3ze (the

writer), i, 5, 6, 7, 51, 86, 101,

102, 106, 107, 113.
Liti-hsia Al (brother of the robber

Am), ii, 166, 167, 175.

330

THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.

Lifi Hsiang (Han officer and writer),
i, 97, 100,107; ii, 132.

Liu Hsm (Han librarian, son of
Hsiang), i, 6.

Lo-sung (name for reading), i, 247.

Lfi (the state), i, 223, 224, 228, 229,
284, 353; ii, 8, 17, 22, 26, 29,
34, 43, 49, 50, 153, 157, 160,
167, 168, 169, 172, 175, 193,
197, 216.

Lfi Ku (a philosopher), ii, 99.

Lfi Nang-shih (commentator), i, 76.

LA Shih (work of Lo Pi), i, 351.

Lfi Shfi-^ih (the editor), i, p. xix,

143, 148, 150,153,154, 161; ,

146, 179.
Lfi Teh-mmg (the author), i, p. xix,

103 ; n, 37.

Lfi 3hien-hsu (a writer), n, 264.
Lu Liang (the gorge ot Lu), n, 20.
Lu Shui (a river), 11, 163.
Lu 3fi (famous Taoist), i. q. Lu

Tung-pin, LU ^un-yang), i,

pp. xvi, XVH.
Lung-fang, 11, 1 31. See K\van Lung-

ftng.
Lung Li-MSn (a minister of Wei),

n, 43.

Man Kau-teh (unprincipled de-
bater), n, 176, 177, 178.

Man-shih ( = Mr. Stupidity), n, 119,
1 20.

M5n Wfi-kwei (man in time of
king WQ), i, 324, 325.

Man-ym Tang-hang (officer of
Thang), n, 117

Mang-sun 3hai or Shih (member of
Mang-sun family), i, 253, 254.

Mng 3ze-fan (Taoist, time of Con-
fucius), i, 250.

Mao Shiang (the beauty), i, 191.

Mau (prince of Wei), n, 159

Mayers's Manual, i. 40, 41, 167, 301,
374; n, 317, etal.

Mencius, i, 65, in, 131, 134, 372,
380; n, 54, 116, 216.

Miao-ku-shih (a mysterious hill), i,
170, 172.

Mm-jze (disciple of Confucius), i,
232.

Ming (a hill in the north), i, 347.

Ming-ling (a great tree), i, 166.

Mo, Mo-jze, and Mo T! (the he-
resiarch; his followers), i, 182,
270, 287 p 296, 360; n, 73, 99,

100,177,178,204,205,219,220,

221.

Mfi (duke of m), n, 50, 89.

Nan-kwo $ze-M\ (a great Taoist),
i, 176.

Nan-po 3ze-^i (same as the above),
i, 219; n, 103. See $ze-&bi.

Nan-yfieh (Yueh in the south), n, 30.

Nestonan monument, the, i, 94.

Nieh-hsu (name for hearing or re-
port), i, 247.

Nieh Aifrueh (ancient Taoist), i, 190,
192, 259, 312; n, 61,62, 108.

Nu Sfiang (favourite of marquis of
Wei), n, 91, 92, 93.

Nu Yu (great Taoist), i, 245.

Numerical categories:
Three precious things, i, no;
precious ones, or refuges, i, 43,
in; pure ones, 1,43; three
meals, i, 166 ; dynasties, i, 271 ;
Mao, and three Wei, i, 295;
dynasties, kings of the, i, 295,
381; hosts, i, 334; Hwang
and five Ti, i, 353 ; five Ti and
three Wang, i, 376; branches
of kindred, n, 204 ; most
distinguished officers, 11, 156 ;
swords, 11, i#9; luminaries, n,
190; pairsof Thai stars, n, 236 ;
spirits of the recumbent body,
11, 236 ; regions, n, 249 ; poisons,
n, 251 ; despoilers, n, 260.
Four seas, the, i, 171, 295; phi-
losophers or perfect ones, 1,172;
boundaries (= a neighbour-
hood), i, 230; seasons, i, 239,
et saepe ; quarters ot the earth,
i, 330; wild tribes on the four
quarters, n, 189, 220; evils, the,
n, 196, 197 ; misrepresentations,
the, n, 197.

Five grains, the, i, 171 ; chiefs, i,
245; viscera, i, 220, 247, 268,
294; colours, i, 328; notes of
music, i, 328; weapons, i, 334 ;
punishments, i, 335; elements,
i, 346; n, 189, 258; virtues, i,
349 ; regulators of the five notes,
i, 351; fivefold arrangement
of the virtues, n, 178, 179;
feudal lordships, 11, 220 ; moun-
tains, n, 317.

Six elemental energies, i, 169,
301 ; conjunctions (=the uni-

INDEX.

331

verse of space), i, 1 89 ; members
of the body, i, 326; extreme
points (= all space), i, 346,
351; musical Accords, i, 269;
comprehensions ( = universe of
space), i, 330; classics, i, 360;
Bow-cases (name of a book),
11, 92 ; faculties of perception,
ii, 139; parties in the social
organisation, ii, 179 ; desires, 11,
251.

Seven precious organs of the
body, 11, 272.

Eight qualities in discussions, i,
189 ; subjects of delight, i, 293 ;
apertures oronfices of the body,
11, 63 ; defects of conduct, 11,
196, 197; eight diagrams, the,
11, 264.

Nine hosts, i, 225 ; divisions of the
Lo writing, i, 346 ; provinces,
J , 376 ; ii, 317 ; apertures of the
body, 11, 25, 63, 259, 260; Shao
(a full performance ot the music
of Shun), n, 26.

Twelve /Ting or classics, i, 339;
hours (of a day), n, 270.

O-lai (a minister of Yin, killed by
king Wfi), 11, 131.

Pai Kung (duke or chief of Pai in

Kbu), i, 380.

Pai-li Hsi (the famous), n, 50.
Pao Shfi-ya (minister of A#i),n, 101.
Pao 3>ao, and Pao-$ze (ancient

worthy), n, 173, 180.
Paradisiacal and primeval state,

i, 26-28, 277-279, 287, 288,

325.

Pei-kung She (officer of Wei), ii, 31.
Pei-^i (the North Pole), i, 245.
Pel-man AT/6ang(dttendant on Hwang-

Ti), i, 348.
Pei-san Wfi-/*ai (a friend of Shun),

11, 161.
Pi-kan (the famous prince of Yan),

1,205,283; 11,37,131,174,180.
Piao-shih (prehistoric sovereign), n,

Pien Sui (worthy at court of Thang),

n, 162.
Pien-gze (a Taoist master), n, 25,

a6.
Pin (early settlement of House of

au), ii, 150.

Ping (name of Kung-sun Lung), ii,

99, 100.
Po-hai (district along gulf of ih-K),

n, 189.
Po-hwan Wfi-san (T^oist teacher),

1,226; 11,53,202,203,
Po-i (elder of the brothers of Kfi-

*fi), i, 239, 273, 375, 376; ii,

163, 173-

Po Ku (disciple of LSo-jjze), ii, 122.

Po Kbang-kbien (historiographer of
Wei), n, 124, 125.

Po-^Mng 3ze-kdO (Taoist, time of
Yao), i, 315.

Po-lao (first subduer of horses), i,
276, 277, 279-

Po SMh (the Bright Water, meta-
phorical), n, 57, 58.

PQ-liang 1 (ancient Taoist), i, 245.

Pu (or Wfi) 3fi (=Mr. Dissatisfied),
ii, 180, 181, 183.

Phang (the great bird), i, 164, 165,

167.
Phang Mang (a famous archer), ii,

36.
Phang Mang (a Taoist master), ii,

223, 225.
Phang 3Q (the patriarch), i, 167, 188,

245, 364.
Phang Yang (the same as 3eh-yang),

n, 114.

Phao-ting (a cook), i, 198, 199, 200.
Phei (place where Lao-$ze lived), i,

354J ", 147-
Phei-i (ancient Taoist), i, 312; n,

61,62.

Phien (a wheelwright), i, 343.
Phi-yung (king Wan's music), n, 218.
Phfi (a river of #an), i, 390.
Phfi-i-jze (ancient TSoist), i, 259.

R&nusat (the Sinologue), i, pp. xm,

xxi, 12, 57
Rtshis (of Buddhism), ii, 238.

Sacrificial hall of JTwang-gze, ii, 320.
San Miao (the tribes so called), i,

295.

San-wei (the place so called), i, 295.
Sau (a prince of Yueh), n, 151, 152.
Sha-^iQ (a hill in Wei), n, 125.
Shan uan (worthy, in favour of

whom Shun wished to resign),

n, 183.

(name of a height), i, 260.

332

THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.

Shan Ming (name, for perspicacity),

i, 247.
Shan N&ng (the ancient sovereign),

i, 37o; 11,7,28,67,68,164,171.
Shan Pao (a recluse), n, 17.
Shan Tao (an earnest Taoist), n,

223, 224, 225.
Shan-thfi ia (a mutilated Taoist),

i, 226.
Shan-thfi Ti (a worthy of Yin, a

suicide), i, 239; n, 141, 173,

perhaps the same as Shan-jze,

or Shang-jze.

Sh3n-$ze (a prince of 3m), u, 180.
Shang (the dynasty), i, 346, 352 ; li,

34 (meaning duchy of Sung).
Shang Sung (sacrificial odes of

^ Shang), 11, 158.
Shao (a ducal appanage), i, 361.
Shao-kwang (name of a palace), i,

* 2 45.
Shao Kih (an inquirer about the

Tao), n, 126, 127, 128.
Shau-lmg (a city), i, 390.
Shau-yang (a hill), i, 273 ; n, 165, 173.
Sheh (district ot JG&fi), i, 210.
Shih (name of Hui-jze), n, 2 3 1 . See

Hui-flze.
Shih (the classic so called), i, 360 ;

n, 216, 271.
Shih (name of a mechanic), i, 217,

218 ; n, 101.
Shih (officer of Wei, Shih Yu and

Shih 3hifi), i, 269, 274, 287,

292, 295, 328.
Shih-hd (a place), 11, 150.
Shih-^y&ang (a barrier uall), n, 189.
Shih-^ng Kh\ (a Taoist, hardly

believing in Lao-^ze), 1,340,341.
Shih-nan (\vhere 1-liao lived), u, 28,

104,121.

Shfi (the deformed worthy), i, 220.
Shfi (the classic so called), i, 360;

n, 216.
Shfi (god of the Northern sea), i,

266, 267.

Shfi (region in the West), ii, 131.
Shfi-^i (brother of Po-i), i, 239;

", 163, 173.

Shfi-r (ancient cook), i, 274.
Shfi-tan (the duke of au, q. v.), ii,

163.

Shui (i. q. Kbm, q. v.).
Shun (the sovereign, called also Yfi

Yu), i. 171, 190, 210, 225, 282,

295, 315, 33', 338, 347, 359,

380; , 7, 35, 62,73,109,120,
150, 161, 170, 171, 173, 178,
183, 218.

Strauss, Victor von (translator and
philosopher), i, p. xm, 58, 123,
124.

Sfi Shih (called also 3ze-an, and
Tung-pho), n, 320, with his
father and brother.

Sfi Shm (the adventurer), n, 256.

Sui (a small state), n, 154.

Sui (the dynasty), i, 7, 8; n, 311.

Sui-zan (prehistoric sovereign, in-
ventor of fire), i, 370 ; n, 7.

Sun Shfi-ao (minister of Kbti), n, 54,
104, 105.

Sung (the state), i, 168, 172, 219,
301, 352, 386; 11, 34, 50, 101,
136, 169, 189, 197, 207, 211.

Sung Hsmg (a Taoist master), n,

221.

Sze-ma Kwang (statesman and his-
torian), i, 86.

Sze-ma ATnen (the historian), i, 4,
5, 6, 7, 33, 35, 3*, 37, 38, 67,
101, 123 ; n, 321, et al.

Ta Hsia (name of Yu's music), n,

218.

Ta Hfi (Thang's music), n, 218.
Ta-kung 7an (an officer of Kbz\

or 3hai), n, 32 (or Thai Rung).
Ta-kwei (name tor the Tao)J n, 96.
Ta ^Tang (Yao's music), n, 218.
Ta-^un (a great tree), i, 166.
Ta Lu (first of the lo\\er musical

Accords), i, 269.
Ta Mo (Great Vacuity, the Tao),

n, 31.
Ta Shao (name of Shun's music),

n, 218.
Ta Thao (historiographer of Wei),

11, 124,125
Ta-ymg (Taoist of Kh\, with a

goitre),i, 233.

Tai (the mount, i. q. Thai), ii, 189.
Tan Hsueh (a certain ca>e), n, 151,

152.
Tang (a high minister of Shang), i,

346.

Tang (a place or region), ii, no.
Tang Ling-jze (a Mohist), n, 220.
Tao (the '1 ao), passim ; meaning of

the name, i, 1 2, 1 5. The Great

T3o, i, 6 1, 68,76, 96; n, 249.
TSo ih (the robber Kih). See Jfih.

INDEX.

333

Tito *iG (Confucius!), ii, 172.

Taoist canon, the, 11, 255.

Temple of Lao-jze, the, n, 319.

TI (God), 1,202, 243,? 3 14, 367; ,i,
58 (probably meaning Hwang-
Ti). In ii, 1 1 i,l. 7, the character
=to rule, to be sovereign m.

Ti (the rude tribes of the North),
n, 150. "

Ti (name of the heresiarch Mo, and
sometimes used for Mohists).
See Mo. '

\ (a park), ii,

fictitious beings, introduced by

him as expositors of the Tao,

i, 299, et al.
Thien Ho (a ruler of JBW), ii, 103 ;

? same as Thien Mu, ii, 1 1 8.
Thien Kan (a mystical name), i, 260,

261.
Thien Aj&ang-jze, and Thien tffcang

(who usurped the rulership of

KM), i, 282; n, 177.
Thien Phien (Taoist teacher), ii,

223, 225.
Thien Shih (name applied by Hwang-

Tung-kwo 3ze (an inquirer after

the Tao), n, 66.
Tung-kwo 3ze-AW (i.q. Nan-kwo

3ze-^?j, q v.), ii, 145.
Tung A"ung-shu (the Han scholar),

i, 109, no.

Tung WG (Taoist teacher), n, 103.
Tung-ye Ki (a great charioteer), n,

23.

Thai (the mountain), i, 188, 244,

296, 11,167.

Thai (certain stars), 11, 236.
Thai-hsia (name of Yu's music), n,

218.
Thai-hG (name of Thang's music).

11,218.
Thai Rung (old minister and writer),

n, 255.
Thai-kung Thiao (a Taoist master),

11, 126, 127, 128.
Thai-kung Zan (a Taoist who tried

^to instruct Confucius), 11, 32.
Thai-tf (the primal ether), i, 243.
Thai^mg (Grand Purity), 11,68, 69.
Thai Shang (name of Tractate), i,

40; 11,235.
Thai Shih (prehistoric sovereign), i,

259-
Thai-wang Than-fG (ancestor of

au), n, 150, 151.
Thang (the Successful, founder of

Shang), 1,6, 167, 359, 380, 388;

>73, M', 162, 170, 171, 173,

178.

Thang (meaning Yao), i, 370 ; ii, 210.
Thang Wan (a book of Lieh-jze), i,

167.
Thien (heavenly, in the Taoistic

sense), i, 309, et al.; see p. 16.

Applied by ATuang-jze to the

Taoist master, i, 42.
Thien 3un (a Taoist deifying title),

n, 265, 266.
Thien 3ze (highest name of the

sovereign), n, 195, etal.
Thien 3ze-fang (preceptor of mar-

quis of Wei), n, 42, 43.
Thung-thmg (the lake), i, 348 ; ii, 8.
Thung-thu (a certain region), 11, 1 10.

3ai-lG (name of an abyss), ii, 136.
Sang (a place), 11,51, ( a name for a

male slave), i, 273.
Sang (the disciple Sang Shan), i, 269,

274, 287, 292,295,328; 11,132,

!45i 158.

3au (birthplace of Mencius), ii, 216.
3eh-yang (designation ot Phang

Yang), n, 114.
3iao Hung (commentator and

editor), i, pp. xv, xix, 76, 84,

90, H9> 123, et al.
3iao-hao (the orthotomus or tailor-
bird), i, 170.
3m (the state), i, 194, 319; ii 169

189.
3o wan (the book so called), i,

106; n, 210, 235, etal.
Sung (a state), i, 190.
Sze-hsu (the famous WG 3ze-hsu or

WG Yuan), 1,2 83; 11,2,174,180.
Sze-hwa Sze (Taoist of Wei), n,
n 152, 153-
3ze-kung (the disciple), i, 92, 251,

252,253,319,320,321,358,360;

11,7, 157,1 60, 161,167 ,193,194.

3ze-*ang (disciple of Confucius), ii,

176, 177-

3ze-ao (designation of duke of
Sheh), i, 210.

po (men to whom Yao and Shun

334

THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.

wished to resign the throne),
ii, 149.

(a minister of 3ng), i,
226, 227, 228.

(minister of war of Kb$) 9 ii,
156.
i, ii, 1 06. See Nan-kwo

ATang (a Taoist), i, 250.
3ze-lai (a Taoist), i, 247, 249.
3ze-lao (disciple of Confucius), n,

121.

3ze-lt (a Taoist), i, 247, 249.
3ze Lieh-gze, n, 154 See Lieh-gze.
3ze-lQ (the disciple), i, 92, 338, 386 ;

n, 44, 121, 160, 161, 172, 193,

200.

3ze-sang Hfi (a Taoist), i, 250, 251.
3ze-sze (a Taoist), i, 247.
3ze-wei k\h 1m (a certain forest),

n, 192.

3ze-vang (minister of ang), ii, 154.
Sze-yfi. See Yen &&ang.
3ze-yu (a Taoist), i, 247.

3hai (the state), i, 352; n, 32, 34,

160, 161, 172, 197.
3han-hao (name for vague uncer-

tainty), i, 247
3hang-wfi (where Shun was buried),

* "' I34 '
3hao Shang (a man of Sung), n, 207.

3hui Kbu (a contemporary of Lao-

gze), i, 294.
3hung-ih (a state), i, 206 ; perhaps

i. q 3ung.
3hze (name of 3ze-kung, q.v.), n,

1 60.
[3h and Kb are sometimes inter-

changed in spelling names.]

Wan (the king), i, 359; n, 51, 52,
53, 168,172, 173. (The famous
duke of 3m), n, 173. (A mar-
quis of Wei), 11, 42, 43. (A
king of tfao), n, 186, 190, 191.
(The emperor of Sui), n, 311,
315-

Wfri-hui (? king Hui of Liang), i,
198, 200.

WSn-po Hsueh-gze (a Tioist of the
South), n, 43, 44.

Wang I (ancient Taoist), i, 190, 191,
192, 259, 312.

Wang Kh\ (commentator of Ma
Twan-lm), i, 40 ; n, 265.

Wang Pi (or Ffi-sze, early com-
mentator), i, p. xv, 8, 55, 74, 75,
83, 93> 94, 101, et al.

Wang Thai (Taoist cripple and
teacher), i, 223, 224.

Wang-jze, Khm%-k\ (a prince so
named), n, 31.

War, against, i, 100, no, 112.

Water, as an emblem ot the Tio, i,
52,58,75, 120.

Wei (the state |Jj|), i, 172, 387 ; ii,
36,42,91, 118, 152, 189.

Wei (the state ^), i, 203, 229, 351,
352; 11,31, 34,i58, 169, 172,197.

Wei Kung (duke Wei of au),n, 16.

Wei Shang (a foolish ancient), ii,
174, 180.

Wei-tau (Ursa Major), i, 244.

Williams, Dr., i, 319, 353, 370; ii,
192, 257.

WO (the state), i, 173 5 ii, 102, 133 ;
(the dynasty), n, 248, 249.

Wfi (the king), i, 359, 380, n, 73,
163, 168, 170, 171, 172, 173,
178, 218. (His music), n, 2 1 8.

Wfi-ao (name for songs), i, 247.

WG-hsien Thiao (a Taoist of uncer-
tain date), ij, 346.

Wfi Kwang (a worthy, in favour of
whom Thang wished to resign),
i, 239, n, MI, 162, i6j.

Wfi-^ai (name of Thien 3ze-fang),
n, 42. Of another, n, 161.

Wfi-M (the toeless), i, 228.

Wfi-wang (distinguished for beau-
ty), i, 256.

Wfi .Af^ang (the commentator), i,
p.xvii, 9, 67, 72,81, 88,97,108,
109, et al.

Wfi iung ( = Infinity), n, 69.

Wfi Shih ( = Mr. No-beginning), ii,
69.

Wfi-shun (the Lipless), i, 233.

Wfi-tmg (a king of Shang), i, 245.

Wfi-gfi (=Mr. Discontent), n, 180,
183.

Wfi-wei (=Mr. Do-nothing), ii,
68, 69.

WA-wei Wei (Dumb- Inaction), ii,
57, 58, 60.

Wfi-yo (=Mr. No-agreement), ii,
179-

Wfi-yfi (=Mr.Non-existence),ii,7o.

Wfi Ytln (i.q. Wfi Sze-hsu), 11, 131,
174-

INDEX.

335

Wyhe, Mr. A., i, 9, 39 ; n, 257, 265,
et al.

Yak(thebosgrunniensofThibet),

i, 174, 317.

Yang (the emperor of the Sui
dynasty), n, 311.

Yang (the heresiarch Yang Kb), i,
270, 287; n, 99, 100.

Yang Hfi (a bad officer), i, 387.

Yang Sze-y&u (a contemporary of
Lao-jjze; perhaps the same as
the above; but the surname
Yang is a different character),
1,261; 11,99, ioo. Yangtze, n,
41, 147, 148. This is Yang-fi
in Lieh-^ze; but the Yang is
that of Yang 3ze-/*u.

Yo (the ancient sovereign), i, 1 69,
172, 190, 206, 225, 242, 282,
291, 295, 312, 313, 314, 315,
338> 347, 359, 386; n, 31, 108,
no, 120, 136, 141, 149, 162,
170, 171, 173, 178, 183.

Yen (the state so called), n, 107, 229.

Yen (name of the above), i, 176.

Yen (name of minister of War in
Wei), 11, 1 1 8.

Yen Ho (a worthy of Lfi in Wei,
as teacher of its ruler's son), i,
2 1 5. (The same, or another of
the same name in Lfi), n, 23,
153, 207.

Yen Kang (attendant at an old
Taoist establishment), 11, 68.

Yen ang Sze-yii (attendant of
Nan-kwo 3ze-*M), i, 176; 11,
103 (Yen JTMng-^ze), 145

Yen Kin (a place in Yen), n, 189.

Yen Man (gate of capital of Sung),
n, 140.

Yen Pfi-i (friend of a king of Wu),

11, 102, 103.

Yen Shfi (a mole), i, 170.

Yen Yuan, Yen Hui, and Hui alone
(Confucms's favourite disciple),
i, 203, 206, 207, 208, 209, 253,
256,257, 351; 11,7, 15,44,49,
53, 72, 158, 159, 160, 167, 200.

Yi (the classic so called), i, 360;
ii, 216.

Yin (the dynasty), ii, 164. (Also a
mountain), i, 260.

Ym-fan (an imperceptibly sloping
hill, metaphorical), n, 57.

Yin W5n (Tioist master), n, 221.

Yin and Yang (the constituents of
the primal ether, and its opera-
tion),!, 249, 291, 292, 297, 299,
349, 3 6 5, 369;", 61, 64, 84, 99,
132. See also ii, 146, 147,195,
208, 216.

Ymg (the capital of JK>fi), i, 347 ;
n, 101, 230.

Ymg (a river), n, 161.

Yo (the classic so called), n, 216,
218.

Yo 1 (a leading man in the king-
dom in third cent. B. c.), i, 7.

Yo ^an (a descendant of Yo t
and pupil of Ho-shang Kung),
J 7-

Yfi (name of 3ze-lfi), i, 339 ; ii, 160,

2OI.

Yfi mo Shih (the Nest-er sove-
reign), n, 171.

Yfi-li (where king Wan was con-
fined), n, 173.
YQ Piao Shih (ancient sovereign), i,

35i.
Yfi Shih (the master of the Right,

who had lost a foot), i, 200.
Yfi lu (the dark capital, in the

north), i, 295.

Yfi 3u *ih shan (a hill in Wfi), n, 102.
Yu (the Great), 1,181,206, 210, 315,

359, 388; n, 35, 173, 218,220.
Yu Hwang-Ti, or Yu Hwang Shang

Ti (great 1 aoist deity), i, 43, 44.
Yti-^iang (the spirit of the northern

regions), i, 245.
Yu Shih, Yfi-yu, and Yu alone

(names for Shun), i, 245, 259,

272, 370; n, 50.
Yu Shfi AJng (the Treatise so called),

n, 265-268.

Yu 3u (a fisherman), 11, 136, 137.
Yuan Hsien (disciple of Confucius),

n, 157.
Yuan Kun (a ruler of Sung), ii, 50,

101, 136, 137.
Yueh (the state), i, 172, 173, 181,

224; n, 93, 133, 151, i 52) j69,

229.
Yueh (a sheep-butcher of JKfi), ii,

155, 156.

Yung (a king of Wei), ii, r 18.
Yung-4ang Shih (a minister of

Hwang-Ti), n, 118.

Zah-^ung Shih (a teacher of Con-
fucius's time), i, 260.

336

THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.

Z&h ATung Alng (the Treatise so
called), ii, 269-272.

Zn (name of a region in the South ;
probably a district of M), ii,
133, 134. In ii, 32, the Zan
in Thai-^ung ZSn may indi-
cate a different quarter, or the
ZSn there may be simply a
name.

Zan-hsiang (a prehistoric sovereign),

ii, 117.
Zan KM (disciple of Confucius), n,

71, 72.
Zo (Spirit-lord of the Northern sea),

i, 374, 375, 377, 378, 379, 382,

383, 384-
Zfi and Zu-k (Literati, = Confucian-

ists),i, 182, 296,360; 11,73,100-

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